At the Zurich Classic, Isaiah Salinda and Justin Velo put on a show. They came storming back to take the title with a stellar 17-under-par total. Their performance topped out with a tournament-record 58 during Thursday’s opening round, establishing a new standard for better-ball competition.
Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard secured the third position with a total of 15 under after shooting a solid 70 on Friday. The Danish twins, Marc and Rasmus, shocked their opponents on Thursday with a full-insane 59. Their strong performance upped the drama as they fought it out with the leaders even further.
American players Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin were right on the heels of the Højgaard brothers. They capped their day with 14 under after Darren Yu’s terrific round of 66. They really put on a display of putting prowess with seven birdies, leaving them only one stroke behind the Højgaards.
Jacob Bridgeman and Chandler Phillips made their mark on the leaderboard, finishing the day with a score of 14 under after posting a 68. Past champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry came up big. They completed the round tied for 16th at 11 under after carding a 69.
McIlroy, making his first start since winning the Masters, got off to a good start playing with Lowry, as he eagled the par-5 second hole. The Irish duo made six birdies in the first 12 holes but fell away after that, unable to find a scoring touch for the remainder of the round.
Salinda and Velo’s journey—a journey cut short by the pandemic— to the top has been defined by resilience. After making one bogey on Friday, they bounced back with four birdies coming on the much-more-scoring-friendly front nine. This remarkable show of force underscored their skill in taking advantage of a perfect storm. They came up short late, going three over on the last six holes.
“Tomorrow, we just keep playing how we’re playing, set ourselves up for Sunday and give ourselves a shot,” – Isaiah Salinda
Novak credited his team’s aggressive strategy for believing in their plan all day to execute it during their round. He underscored their knack for avoiding big disaster all night long.
“There was really only one hole out there I felt like we were in trouble at any point really,” – Andrew Novak
As the tournament heads into the weekend, Salinda and Velo will be looking to maintain their lead. In the meantime, the Højgaard twins and other challengers will do everything they can to catch up. With more difficult times coming, golf fans across the world should be treated to a thrilling conclusion to this year’s Zurich Classic.
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