One guy is from the heart of Texas, the other the Basque country of northern Spain. But my, how they clicked. Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm, each having found himself without a partner heading into the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, high-fived, hugged and ate Skittles on the way to a three-stroke victory over Tommy Fleetwood/Sergio Garcia. “It never felt odd to me,� Palmer said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday, when told that they’d been described in one news account as a Felix-and-Oscar odd couple. There are all sorts of origin stories for the teams at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Some share a last name (brothers Brooks/Chase Koepka, T22 last year). Others have the same first name (Alex Prugh/Alex Cejka, T13 last year). They share a sponsor, agent, nationality (India’s Shubhankar Sharma/Anirban Lahiri, T22 last year), or all of the above. Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, who lost in a playoff in 2017, the first year the Zurich Classic was a team event, are friends from Aiken, South Carolina. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt, who beat them, teamed up because Smith’s caddie was living with Blixt in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Then-23-year-old Smith even later moved to the area himself.) South Georgia hunting buddies Patton Kizzire, who is 6 feet, 5 inches, and Brian Harman, who measures just 5 feet 7 inches, really do look like an odd couple. And while they missed the cut at the Zurich last year, they won the unofficial 2018 QBE Shootout in Naples, Florida. Then there’s Palmer (the Texan) and Rahm (the Spaniard currently ranked world No. 2), who were set to defend their title this year until the coronavirus pandemic had other plans. With Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes, giving them Skittles for birdies at TPC Louisiana, they made nine best-ball birdies for a third-round 64, Rahm accounting for eight of them. Palmer, who helped them avert disaster when both hit into the water on 17, then made several clutch putts in the final round as they brought it home with an alternate-shot 69. They slipped on the customary white winners’ belts with 6-inch rhodium-plated buckle designed by Malcolm DeMille and featuring New Orleans symbols like musical notes, the fleur-de-lis, and gators. That this even had a chance to happen was a quirk of fate, God’s wink, kismet, and maybe some good old New Orleans juju. Palmer’s usual Zurich partner, Jordan Spieth, had decided to take the week off, and Rahm’s partner, Wesley Bryan, was inactive due to shoulder surgery. “When Wesley told me he was having shoulder surgery a few months before the event, I was in no-man’s land,� Rahm said last year. “I’m really happy I said yes (to Palmer).� Said Palmer on Tuesday, “It was an easy text and he jumped right on it.� Easy because their caddies, Hayes and Palmer’s friend and bag man James Edmondson, are friends. Easy because Rahm had played in Palmer’s charity event, and they’d gotten to know each other. And, yes, easy because Rahm was already one of the best players in the world. Their age difference? Not a big deal. “I spent two years playing with Jordan,� Palmer said, “I’m real good friends with him and he’s the same age as Jon. I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to partner up with a great player.’ � Palmer misses being in New Orleans this week. He misses the food, and hanging out with his friends there, including Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints. They’re pro-am partners, and Payton has brought Palmer into the team’s NFL Draft room to peer behind the curtain. As for New Orleans, he added, he and Rahm have kept in touch, two solid ball-strikers who fade the ball off the tee and play the occasional practice round together. So, no, they’re not as odd a couple as you might think, but there was one odd part. It happened long after they won, and, needing to eat before getting on planes to fly to their respective homes, the Zurich Classic’s newest power couple walked into a Popeyes for some fried chicken. Said Palmer, laughing at the memory, “We were still wearing those belts.�
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