Alejandro del Rey and Ángel Ayora will play together as a pair next week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour, news brought forward by Ten Golf. The American circuit confirmed just a few hours ago the invitation for the two Spaniards to compete in this unique tournament, which will take place as every year at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale, New Orleans.
This is great news for Spanish golf, especially in the first season in a long time where none of our players have a PGA Tour card. Del Rey will play his fourth tournament on the American circuit, following last year’s Genesis Scottish Open and the Barbasol Championship and US Open in 2023. Meanwhile, Ayora will make his third appearance on this Tour, after two consecutive appearances at the Puerto Rico Open. The record of the Madrid native and the Andalusian in their few appearances on the PGA Tour is not bad. There’s only one missed cut, Alex’s at the US Open in Los Angeles, although he fought until the end.
The Zurich Classic is a tournament played in pairs format since 2017. Del Rey and Ayora will form the second all-Spanish duo in the tournament’s history, after Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sergio García did so in the 2018 edition. Additionally, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño played alongside Martin Flores in 2017, Sergio himself with Tommy Fleetwood on two occasions, Rafa also teamed up with Emiliano Grillo, Jon Rahm with Ryan Palmer and Wesley Bryan, and Jorge Campillo was the last one last year with Vincent Norrman.
Indeed, Spanish golf has had quite a bit of success at this event. Notably, Rahm won with Palmer in the 2020 edition, the same year Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio García finished in second place. We will see what Del Rey and Ayora, two very young golfers aged 26 and 20 respectively, can do in 2025. It’s inevitable to think that with their playing style, they can perform really well in the fourball format.
As we mentioned, the Zurich Classic is played in pairs. Two of the four rounds are played in the best ball format (fourball) and the other two in alternate shot (foursome). Remember that this tournament awards points for the Ryder Cup. Specifically, the total points for the position are divided 50 percent between the two members of the pair. The tournament will be played from Thursday to the following Sunday.
