Preview

Course Info

Course Designer:  Tom Fazio
Tournament played here since:  2018
Type of Course:  Open, coastal and exposed to wind
Fairways:  Wide
Greens:  Undulating but not the fastest - 11.5 max on the Stimpmeter. Paspalum Grass
Par 5's:  4th, 7th, 12th and 14th
Premium on: Ability to deal with wind

Significant Info To Be Aware Of

Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals. It's also early in a new season on the PGA Tour so some players may be playing with a fresh mindset. 
Be aware that this tournament has been played in March in previous years.  Also be aware that Strokes Gained data is not available for this event.

Trends

Winning Score: The two PGA Tour tournaments have both been won with 18 under par.  The two Korn Ferry Tour events were won with scores of -20 and -24.

Course Form:  Both McDowell and Garnett had played at Puntacana prior to their win but both missed the cut the year immediately before their win. Course form preferred but not essential. 

Recent Form:  Neither McDowell or Garnett had recorded a top 10 that year prior to winning. Form not essential.

Favourites or Outsiders:  McDowell and Garnett both went off in excess of 50/1 at the bookmakers. Outsiders should be chanced here, especially given the field strength. 

Stats Analysis

Greens in Regulation:  Both previous PGA Tour winners here were in the top 25 for GIR.

Driving Distance:  Neither of the past two winners ranked inside the top 50 for Driving Distance.

Driving Accuracy:  Both McDowell and Garnett ranked inside the top 35 for Driving Accuracy. It is slightly preferred over distance.

Scrambling: Surprisingly, G-Mac only ranked 47th for scrambling last time out but Garnett ranked 15th in 2018.

Putting:  Both players ranked 1st for Putts per GIR.  A hot putter will be key this week.

In Play

Tough Holes: 16-18 are known as The Devil's Elbow.  Despite the name, the holes only averaged 0.1 strokes over par.

Birdie Holes:  The 6th and 7th are particularly scoreable.  
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Fast or Slow Start:  Leaders after round three have a strong record here. Both McDowell and Garnett converted from in front and Dominic Bozzelli won when joint leader in 2016 on the web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour).  Each of the last four course winners have been inside the top 10 at halfway.

Six To Watch

Xinjung Zhang - 50/1 @ Bet365
A player to follow when he is playing well, Xinjung finished 14th in his last start at the Safeway Open.  He also boasts a 5th place finish here in 2018 and a solid 14th place finish at this year's Puerto Rico Open, demonstrating his liking for this type of test.  A two time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, he can convert a chance if it arises.

Kurt Kitayama - 80/1 @ Betfred
Kurt's a very competent wind player who will relish the test this week in the Dominican Republic.  He missed the cut on the number at the US Open last time out but we aren't too concerned given the nature of that test and the fact he's a player who can pop up with a big result having previously shown little form.  His last win in Oman came after a string of missed cuts and let's not forget this is a young man who already has two European Tour wins at coastal tracks.

Beau Hossler - 80/1 @ Bet365
Beau is yet to play at Puntacana but he's worth a closer look based on his performance at the Safeway Open last time out.  He opened with a 1 over par 73 but then played the next 54 holes in 15 under par.  He's a sound wind player and it's interesting that he's recorded a couple of high finishes at the Houston Open, an event which has also been positive for 2018 Puntacana champion, Brice Garnett.

Sam Ryder - 100/1  @ Genting Bet
Sam finished 2nd and 12th here when the course was used on the web.com Tour.  He also boasts a 3rd place finish at the Puerto Rico Open, a correlating event.  His recent form has been poor but he often does his best work after a missed cut.  At 100/1 he's one to watch given his liking for these type of events.

Mark Anderson - 150/1 @ SpreadEx
Mark finished 36th last time out at the Safeway Open.  He's got a solid bank of form at coastal venues and he does have course experience having finished 28th here in 2016 when it was a web.com Tour event.  He's a better player now having won on the Korn Ferry Tour last year and he's a lively outsider this week.

Zach Sucher - 300/1 @ SpreadEx
Zach has a 7th place finish here in 2016 when it played as a web.com Tour event.  He's been playing poorly of late but we should remember that he's a player who doesn't need to be playing well to post a big finish.  He posted two runner up finishes last year (one on the PGA Tour and one on the Korn Ferry Tour) and both were preceded by a missed cut.  One to keep an eye on to see if he starts well.  ​

In-play

In Play

The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in-play blog was not stored on our previous website and we are unable to re-produce it.