“You’ll learn their names soon” – PGA Tour pro hits back at Zurich Classic field criticism

Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak have pushed back strongly against suggestions that this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans features a diluted field, insisting the PGA Tour remains as competitive as ever despite the absence of some headline names.

The American duo, who claimed their maiden PGA Tour victory together at TPC Louisiana 12 months ago, are back to defend their title in the Tour’s only official team event. In doing so, they are also defending the strength of the competition itself after a reporter suggested the field is not as deep as in recent editions.

With two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy opting to sit out this year’s event, attention has inevitably turned to who is – and isn’t – teeing it up. 

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McIlroy, who partnered Shane Lowry to victory in 2024 before finishing tied 12th last year, is not in the field this week. 

Lowry has instead teamed up with five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, immediately restoring star power to the event.

Koepka and Lowry have been installed as marginal favourites, but they are far from unopposed. 

Matt Fitzpatrick arrives in blistering form after winning two of his last three PGA Tour starts, including a dramatic RBC Heritage victory over Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. 

The newly-promoted world number three teams up with his younger brother Alex Fitzpatrick, who also comes in fresh off a DP World Tour win at the Hero Indian Open.

Elsewhere, rising stars Michael Thorbjornsen and Karl Vilips are in action, alongside English pair Marco Penge and Matt Wallace, as well as Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala.

Other notable pairings towards the front of the betting market include Sudarshan Yellamaraju with Ryan Gerard, and Johnny Keefer with Michael Brennan. 

Despite that depth at the top end, a reporter in the media centre at TPC Louisiana questioned whether the Zurich Classic’s scheduling had impacted the overall strength of the field.

It promopted a firm response from the defending champions.

“You may not know some of the names in this tournament yet, but you will,” said Novak, declaring this field is still incredibly strong.

“There’s some kids playing in this tournament that you better get to learn their names sooner rather than later. Some of them have decided to pair up together, so that’s going to be a bit of an issue, but we’ll have to deal with that Thursday to Sunday.

“Yeah, just because you don’t know the names yet doesn’t mean you won’t.”

Griffin, who has experienced first-hand how quickly careers can change on the PGA Tour following his breakthrough win at this very event, echoed his partner’s sentiment.

“Yeah, the field is very strong,” added Griffin, who knows no better at just how quickly this tournament elevated his own career, now as a three-time winner and 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup player.

“Everyone that’s on the PGA Tour or has a conditional PGA Tour card, they’re still incredibly talented golfers. Maybe they just haven’t broken through yet.

“Obviously the spotlight every single week on Tour tends to be the top few names. That’s just the nature of how media works. That’s what people kind of want to see sometimes. But there’s so many golfers on the PGA Tour. Every week, obviously the signature events are a bit smaller at 72-man fields, but most weeks out here at 144 guys, there’s a lot of horses in the race. Everyone that’s earned their way into the field has just the same amount of chance of winning as anyone else. It’s just a matter of executing the shots and getting over the hump.

“There’s tons of guys coming off the Korn Ferry Tour with a ton of talent, a ton of kids out of college that are really strong and good players. Just because there might not be every single guy that’s in the top 20 in the world here doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a gimme week for a top pair like me and Andrew.

“It’s still very strong. That’s the cool thing about the PGA Tour. Yeah, like you said, just because you haven’t heard their names, you’re probably going to very soon. Everyone has their breakthrough moments. Fortunately for me, it was here last year.

“Now look at me now. I was a pick for the Player of the Year last year. Going into this tournament last year I wasn’t talking to any media.

“It’s cool what things can do, what you can do on the PGA Tour. Every single week can change your career. Hopefully someone’s career isn’t changed this week because we win again, but it happens very often.”

For Novak and Griffin, however, the focus remains simple: defending their title and proving that winning on the PGA Tour is never straightforward – regardless of who is or isn’t in the field.