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The third round of the 2025 Zurich Classic returned the field to fourballs, which presented an opportunity for every team that made the weekend to push into contention ahead of Sunday's final round. That played out with some extremely low scores posted throughout Saturday's action, setting up the potential for an exciting final round.
The best effort of the day belonged to Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III who they combined forces to shoot a 12-under 60 and move into a tie for second at 24 under for the tournament. There were seven teams that shot 61s Saturday, including Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin, who kept their great momentum from Friday and moved from one shot back to three ahead of the pack at 27 under.
They balanced each other extremely well in the third round as Griffin provided five birdies and Novak contributed six, including a chip-in on the 13th that was his third such make of the week.
Griffin birdied the final two holes to give his team some separation going into Sunday with both men seeking their first career wins on the PGA Tour.
The headliners of the chase pack Sunday will be the defending champions as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry accomplished their goal of moving up the leaderboard on Moving Day. They now sit five back at -22 after posting a 61, but they believe foursomes (alternate shot) is their strength, and after a fantastic round Saturday capped with a long eagle on the 18th from McIlroy, they're feeling good about their chances of repeating.
If Saturday was the day for scoring, Sunday will be all about disaster avoidance for Novak and Griffin at the top. Alternate shot brings a different kind of pressure, and teams can find it difficult to get into a rhythm, but the youngsters navigated it beautifully Friday with a 66; anything close to that Sunday would likely be too much for anyone to catch them.
The leaders
1. Andrew Novak & Ben Griffin (-27): Novak has been playing tremendous golf all year. He is coming off a runner-up at the RBC Heritage, losing to Justin Thomas in a playoff, seeking to enter the winner's circle for the first time. Griffin has likewise come close to pulling out a W (runner-up at the 2023 Sanderson Farms), but he yet to capture that elusive PGA Tour title of his own. Now they'll have to navigate through the final round pressure of holding a three-shot lead together, trusting each other in alternate shot to reach their respective and combined goal.
Contenders
T2. Jake Knapp & Frankie Capan III, Ryo Hisatsune & Takumi Kanaya (-24)
T4. Nicolai & Rasmus Højgaard, Isaiah Salinda & Kevin Velo (-23)
T6. Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry, Cam Davis & Adam Svensson, Luke List & Henrik Norlander (-22)
Given how difficult it is to go low in foursomes, the winner should come from somewhere in this top eight. McIlroy & Lowry are obviously big threats, a great complementary team that could produce low scores -- they were 6 under thru 12 on Friday before three bogeys in their final six holes to close. It'll likely take something spectacular to catch Novak & Griffin, but all of these teams (aside from Davis & Svensson) went under par Friday and will feel like they at least have a chance.
The Højgaards seemed to find something on and around the greens Saturday, which was their Achilles heel Friday; they feel like a real threat to get hot. Knapp & Capan III and Hisatsune & Kanaya have been steady all week, and while they aren't the names upon which everyone will focus both teams at T2 are performing at an impressive level this week, such that they could apply pressure on the leaders.
2025 Zurich Classic updated odds, picks
Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook
- Novak & Griffin (10-11)
- Lowry & McIlroy (6-1)
- Hisatsune & Kanaya (8-1)
- Capan III & Knapp (10-1)
- Højgaard & Højgaard (12-1)
- Salinda & Velo (25-1)
With a three-shot lead and the difficulty of scoring in foursomes, Novak & Griffin are the favorites to win, and they look comfortable right now. Of the chasers, Hisatsune & Kanaya and the Højgaard twins are the teams I'd be most interested in from a value perspective, as I don't foresee a real long shot opportunity from further down the leaderboard.
