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2018 Zurich Classic walk-up songs that each pairing will play on the first tee
(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans has done a great job in the past two years of changing up its format to attract a solid field (17 of the top 30 in the world are teeing it up this week) and more eyeballs to its event, which is now the only team event on the PGA Tour. And for the 2018 Zurich Classic, each team that makes the cut gets to play their own personalized "walk-up" song to before they hit their opening tee shots on Saturday and Sunday.
It's clear a bunch of these teams had fun making their song selections: Justin Thomas and Bud Cauley are coming out to "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello went with Tina Turner, which is hilarious, and Cody Gribble and John Peterson selected a George Michael song—both of which should elicit some laughs on the first tee. Same as Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays going with "Doo Wa Ditty."
There are some repeat songs here: Tupac's "California Love" was picked by two groups with Golden State connections (Nick Watney/Charley Hoffman and Brendan Steele/Jamie Lovemark); an Aussie favorite "Down Under" by Men at Work, selected by Jason Day and Ryan Ruffels and Greg Chalmers and Cameron Percy; and "Enter Sandman," chosen by Ryan Armour/Johnson Wagner and Chris Stroud/Brian Stuard.
Here's the latest collection of songs—it looks like some teams haven't submitted theirs yet. (We're anxiously awaiting Jason Dufner's and Pat Perez's choice, and Matt Kuchar's and Bubba Watson's pick). If we had to guess, Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer might go with a Jake Owen tune, since Owen is Spieth's buddy and usual pro-am partner at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
We'll report back when we know more, but here's the latest list, per PGATour.com:
Charl Schwartzel/Louis Oosthuizen: "Hakuna Matata" from Lion King
Jonathan Randolph/Trey Mullinax: "Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers
Seamus Power/David Hearn: "Shipping up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys
Sung Kang/John Huh: "Bang Bang Bang" by Big Bang
William McGirt/Sam Burns: "Callin' Baton Rouge" by Garth Brooks
Kevin Na/Byeong Hun An: "Make 'em say Uhh" by Master P
Chris Kirk/J.T. Poston: "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne
Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica
Martin Piller/Joel Dahmen: "Lovumba" by Daddy Yankee
K.J. Choi/Charlie Wi: "Gangnam Style" by PSY
Ryan Armour/Johnson Wagner: "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
C.T. Pan/Zac Blair: "Half Time" by Ying Yang Twins (inspired by the New Orleans Saints)
Tyrone Van Aswegen/Retief Goosen: "Africa" by Toto
Tom Hoge/J.J. Henry: "Right Now" by Van Halen
Shawn Stefani/John Rollins: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC
Tony Finau/Daniel Summerhays: "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" by Zapp & Roger
Keith Mitchell/Stephan Jaeger: "Pizza Guy" by Touch Sensitive
Ben Silverman/Matt Atkins: "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
Zach Johnson/Jonathan Byrd: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC
Patrick Reed/Patrick Cantlay: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
Greg Chalmers/Cameron Percy: "Down Under" by Men at Work
Keegan Bradley/Jon Curran: "Shipping up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys
Brendan Steele/Jamie Lovemark: "California Love" by Tupac
Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney: "California Love" by Tupac
Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy: "Young Forever" by Jay Z ft. Mrs. Hudson
Cody Gribble/John Peterson: "Careless Whisper" by George Michael
Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly: "As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith
Chris Stroud/Brian Stuard: "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
Sergio Garcia/Rafa Cabrera Bello: "The Best" by Tina Turner
Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft: "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump
DA Points/Kyle Thompson: "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy
Mac Hughes/Corey Conners: "Big League" by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider
Justin Thomas/Bud Cauley: "Circle of Life" from Lion King (Carmen Twillie)
Shane Lowry/Padraig Harrington: "Beautiful Day" by U2
Russell Knox/Martin Laird: "Flower of Scotland" (anthem)
Gary Woodland/Daniel Berger: "Forever" by Drake
Brandon Harkins/Lanto Griffin: "Started From the Bottom" by Drake
Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown: "Slippery" by Migos
Andrew Landry/Talor Gooch: "Big Poppa" by Notorious BIG
Jason Day/Ryan Ruffels: "Down Under" by Men at Work
Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson: "Gold" by Spandau Ballet
Matt Every/Sam Saunders: "Running With the Devil" by Van Halen
Jon Rahm/Wesley Bryan: "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar
Emiliano Grillo/Peter Uihlein: "Mi Gente (Remix)" by J Balvin, Willy William, Busta K.
Jamie Donaldson/Ross Fisher: "Sweet Disposition" by The Temper Trap
Harold Varner III/Robert Garrigus: "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
Alex Cejka/Ben Crane: "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
Abraham Ancer/Roberto Diaz: "Mexico Lindo y Querido" by Vicente Fernandez
Xinjun Zhang/Zecheng Dou: "Believe in Myself" by Zero Point Band