REVEALED: Every golfer's walk-on music at the Zurich Classic, from Metallica to Tupac, and Justin Rose's cheeky dig at Henrik Stenson

  • The Zurich Classic is the first PGA Tour event to use walk-on music
  • Every player's song selection can be revealed, and there are some fun choices
  • Metallica and fellow rock legends AC/DC and Van Halen are popular
  • Justin Rose selected Gold by Spandau Ballet in an Olympic reference

Metallica might not be the first thing you'd think of when talking about golf, but it'll be the first thing fans will hear when this week's PGA Tour event in New Orleans gets underway. 

The Zurich Classic, featuring the likes of Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Masters champion Patrick Reed, will be the first PGA Tour event to use walk-on music as the players are introduced at the first tee, in the style of boxing or darts.

It is a rare team event, with players partnering up for a better-ball competition, and each duo has selected their own walk-on music, with Metallica's heavy metal classic Enter Sandman proving the most popular choice.

Justin Rose is playing in the Zurich Classic this week, which features walk-on music
James Hetfield of rock gods Metallica, whose Enter Sandman song is a popular choice

Justin Rose is playing in the Zurich Classic this week, which features walk-on music; James Hetfield of rock gods Metallica (right), whose Enter Sandman song is a popular choice

Three teams chose that song, while Thunderstruck by fellow rock gods AC/DC was picked by two teams, including former Masters and Open champion Zach Johnson, who is playing with Jonathan Byrd.


At the other end of the musical spectrum, hip-hop anthem California Love by Tupac and Dr Dre will accompany the Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney and Brendan Steele/Jamie Lovemark teams to the tee. No prizes for guessing where those players all hail from.

It is a theme repeated throughout, with former world No 1 Jason Day and partner Ryan Ruffels showing their Aussie roots with Down Under by Men at Work, Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington opting for Beautiful Day by fellow Irishmen U2, and Martin Laird and Russell Knox showing their national pride with a bagpipe-only rendition of Flower of Scotland.

Cody Gribble and John Peterson's choice of Careless Whisper by George Michael might seem an odd choice to gee them up for the round, but Reed plays up to his cold-eyed reputation with Eye of the Tiger.

Rose, meanwhile, takes a sly dig at his partner and good pal Stenson with Spandau Ballet's Gold - the Englishman beat the Swede to the gold medal in a shootout at the Rio Olympics in 2016. 

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia perhaps immodestly opted for The Best by Tina Turner
Rapper 2Pac's iconic California Love was chosen by some players from that state

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia perhaps immodestly opted for The Best by Tina Turner, while rapper 2Pac's iconic California Love was chosen by some players from that state

Harold Varner III and Robert Garrigus also share their sense of humour with their choice of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney's Ebony and Ivory.

So why have the PGA Tour introduced the walk-on music?

'We are continuously looking for fun and innovative ways for our players to connect with fans,' said Tyler Dennis, chief of operations.

'Given the team format and the location being New Orleans, I can't think of a better event to introduce this on the PGA Tour.' 

Walk-on music has been used at a number of recent European Tour events and it seems the craze is catching on, although there are no plans as yet to have it at any other PGA Tour event. 

The fill list of every team's song choice is below. 

EVERY TEAM'S WALK-ON MUSIC AT THE ZURICH CLASSIC
Team Song Artist
William McGirt/Sam Burns Callin' Baton Rouge Garth Brooks
Kevin Na/Byeong Hun An Make 'em say Uhh Master P
Chris Kirk/J.T. Poston Crazy Train Ozzy Osbourne
Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover For Whom the Bell Tolls Metallica
Martin Piller/Joel Dahmen Lovumba Daddy Yankee
K.J. Choi/Charlie Wi Gangnam Style PSY
Ryan Armour/Johnson Wagner Enter Sandman Metallica
C.T. Pan/Zac Blair Half Time Ying Yang Twins
Tyrone Van Aswegen/Retief Goosen Africa Toto
Tom Hoge/J.J. Henry Right Now Van Halen
Shawn Stefani/John Rollins Thunderstruck AC/DC
Tony Finau/Daniel Summerhays Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing) Zapp & Roger
Keith Mitchell/Stephan Jaeger Pizza Guy Touch Sensitive
Ben Silverman/Matt Atkins Enter Sandman Metallica
Zach Johnson/Jonathan Byrd Thunderstruck AC/DC
Patrick Reed/Patrick Cantlay Eye of the Tiger Survivor
Greg Chalmers/Cameron Percy Down Under Men at Work
Keegan Bradley/Jon Curran Shipping up to Boston Dropkick Murphys
Brendan Steele/Jamie Lovemark California Love Tupac
Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney California Love Tupac
Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy Young Forever Jay Z ft. Mrs. Hudson
Cody Gribble/John Peterson Careless Whisper George Michael
Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly As Good As I Once Was Toby Keith
Chris Stroud/Brian Stuard Enter Sandman Metallica
Sergio Garcia/Rafa Cabrera Bello The Best Tina Turner
Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft Gucci Gang Lil Pump
DA Points/Kyle Thompson Working for the weekend Loverboy
Mac Hughes/Corey Conners Big League  Tom Cochrane & Red Rider
Justin Thomas/Bud Cauley Circle of Life Carmen Twillie
Shane Lowry/Padraig Harrington Beautiful Day U2
Russell Knox/Martin Laird Flower of Scotland  The Corries
Gary Woodland/Daniel Berger Forever Drake
Brandon Harkins/Lanto Griffin Started From the Bottom Drake
Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown Slippery Migos
Andrew Landry/Talor Gooch Big Poppa Notorious BIG
Jason Day/Ryan Ruffels Down Under Men at work
Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson Gold Spandau Ballet
Matt Every/Sam Saunders Running With the Devil Van Halen
Jon Rahm/Wesley Bryan DNA Kendrick Lamar
Emiliano Grillo/Peter Uihlein Mi Gente (Remix) J Balvin, Willy William, Busta K.
Jamie Donaldson/Ross Fisher Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap
Harold Varner III/Robert Garrigus Ebony and Ivory Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
Alex Cejka/Ben Crane Here I Go Again Whitesnake
Abraham Ancer/Roberto Diaz Mexico Lindo y Querido Vicente Fernandez
Xinjun Zhang/Zecheng Dou Believe in Myself Zero Point Band

 

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