NEW ORLEANS, LA. (WDAM) – The PGA Tour’s only team event begins Thursday as the Zurich Classic tees off at TPC Louisiana.
For Hattiesburg native Davis Riley, the tournament carries extra meaning.
The Presbyterian Christian School graduate won the event in 2023 with partner Nick Hardy, finishing at 30-under 258. The two became the first duo since the team format started in 2017 to finish with a 72-hole total of 30-under or better.
Riley has finished inside the top 30 in each of the last four years.
Playing two hours from home adds significance for Riley.
“It means a little bit more,” Riley said. “Obviously, you want to put on a show for, you know, your friends and family and stuff like that. So yeah, I just, I think just have fun with it.”
Riley said the course reminds him of Canebrake Golf Club in Hattiesburg, where he learned the game.
“There’s so many similarities between this course and the course I grew up on, so I think that’s why I’m very comfortable around it,” Riley said. “There’s quite a bit of water and Bermuda grass, so I’m very familiar with that, and that’s what I was born and raised and grew up playing.”
Riley said the Bermuda grass around the greens can be challenging for many players, but his experience gives him an advantage.
“I’ve had enough laps around it and some reps around it that I’m pretty comfortable with it,” Riley said. “Not to say that it’s easy, but I feel like I definitely know how to manage it, so I feel like that gives me a little bit of an edge.”
Riley has two career victories on the PGA Tour. He and Hardy tee off on Thursday at 8:18 a.m.
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