What is the four-ball in the Zurich Classic? Everything you need to know about the rules

The 2024 Zurich Classic in New Orleans will serve as the only team tournament on the official PGA Tour Schedule this year. With some of the best golfers in the world pairing up on April 25 to tee off at TPC Louisiana.

Being that the entire tournament is played in pairs, traditional stroke play techniques are set aside and four-balls and foursomes are used instead. The four-ball format takes place on the first and the third day of the event, while the foursomes format is used for the second and fourth rounds.

The four-ball format requires two players to team up for the tournament. Each golfer plays each hole of the round with their own ball. The lower score of the two is considered for that particular hole. This process is repeated for each hole and the team that has the lowest carded total at the end of the round wins.

According to the rules of golf, while teammates can discuss their game plan with each other, they are not allowed to advise each other during the game. The four-ball format provides for an exciting round of golf played in pairs.

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Top player pairings for the 2024 Zurich Classic explored

Golfers who commit to the 2024 Zurich Classic can partner up with other golfers on their own terms, as long as they have PGA Tour status. This year, there are some exciting pairings for the Zurich Classic, including the Irish pair of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.

Following are some of the top-ranked pairs at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans:

• Patrick Cantlay / Xander Schauffele +500
• Rory McIlroy / Shane Lowry +800
• Will Zalatoris / Sahith Theegala +1100
• Collin Morikawa / Kurt Kitayama +1600
• Tom Hoge / Maverick McNealy +2500
• Matt Fitzpatrick / Alex Fitzpatrick +2500
• Taylor Pendrith / Corey Conners +3500
• Rasmus Højgaard / Nicolai Højgaard +3500
• Taylor Montgomery / Ben Griffin +4000
• Sepp Straka / Brice Garnett +4000
• Nick Taylor / Adam Hadwin +4000
• Keith Mitchell / Joel Dahmen +4000
• Brice Garnett / Sepp Straka +4000
• Thomas Detry / Robert MacIntyre +4500
• Doug Ghim / Chan Kim +4500
• Davis Thompson / Andrew Novak +4500
• Daniel Berger / Victor Perez +4500
• Kevin Yu / C.T. Pan +5000
• Billy Horschel / Tyson Alexander +5000
• Beau Hossler / Sam Ryder +5000
• Andrew Putnam / Joe Highsmith +5000
• Aaron Rai / David Lipsky +5000
• Thorbjorn Olesen / Matt Wallace +6500
• Taylor Moore / Matt NeSmith +6500
• K.H. Lee / Michael Kim +6500
• Greyson Sigg / Chesson Hadley +6500
• Gary Woodland / Lee Hodges +6500
• Garrick Higgo / Ryan Fox +6500
• Austin Eckroat / Chris Gotterup +6500

The prize purse for the Zurich Classic is $8.9 million, of which the winners will take home $1.286 million each.