While the leading lights in the golfing world are being entertained by the delights of Mexico this week, those not fortunate enough to have qualified for the WGC are heading in a different direction, for the Puerto Rico Open, a secondary PGA Tour event but one which carries many of the usual benefits of winning.
Martin Trainer felt the joys of them last year when he won this tournament and he’ll be back looking to do the same again, but there are some players we wouldn’t usually associate with an event of this kind looking to dispose him from the top of the pile.
Recent Winners
2019 – Martin Trainer
2018 – No Tournament
2017 – D.A. Points
2016 – Tony Finau
2015 – Alex Cejka
2014 – Chesson Hadley
2013 – Scott Brown
2012 – George McNeill
2011 – Michael Bradley
2010 – Derek Lamely
The Course
The Coco Beach Golf and Country Club is once again the venue for this tournament as always. It is a par 72 which goes up to 7,506 yards so on paper it is a long course but it rarely plays to its full yardage, and if you look at the previous winners, rarely is length a key requirement, it is more about hitting the large greens in the right number and then getting the putts to drop.
The other big factor when tackling this event is the wind. This is an exposed track right on the coast so the wind always has an impact, although the forecast isn’t too bad in that regard from Friday onwards. It can kick up without notice though so keep your eye on players who specialise in the wind, or at least are not inconvenienced by it. In summary we want good approach players and putters who can handle the wind.
The Field
Given the nature of the tournament running alongside the WGC event in Mexico, the field for this one always changes and that is no different this year. It is a mixture of Korn Ferry level players with European Tour players with nothing to play in and a top up of PGA Tour players who didn’t make the WGC.
That all leaves the European pair of Viktor Hovland and Alex Noren as the bigger profile players teeing it up, while another from that side of the pond, Tom Lewis, is in the field too. From closer to home Patrick Rodgers, former champions Scott Brown and Chesson Hadley are here, while international stars such as Emiliano Grillo and Jhonattan Vegas both have a tee time as well.
Market Leaders
Viktor Hovland is the most progressive player in the field and as such he is the 11/1 favourite to win the tournament. The immediate concern would be that he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour to date, but he is often operating at a much higher level than this so if he can handle the conditions he would look to rate as the leading danger to the trophy. He might just be fairly priced rather than anything special though and to gain any great returns we’ll be looking for him to win.
Alex Noren is an 18/1 second favourite to win the tournament. He isn’t in the greatest form but he is someone who you know will go well in the wind. He is a debutant here but there are plenty of them, so that might not be the negative that it sounds. His current form is more of an issue, and while at his best he could sweep this event up, one wonders if he is playing well enough for that.
Five players come in at 25/1 in the betting on the best prices. They are former winner Scott Brown, Patrick Rodgers, Tom Lewis, Cameron Davis and Maverick McNealy. Brown went well at Riviera last week, which would have done his price no good, but he might be a little too flaky in contention. Rodgers and Lewis have the tools to go well here with the Englishman of particular interest given that he won a similar class of event in the Korn Ferry Tour finals towards the end of last year. Davis has his chances and I’ll come on to McNealy below.
Past winner Chesson Hadley comes here as a 30/1 shot to regain the title. When he is playing well he can contend in any PGA Tour event but the very nature of the fact he is here and not in Mexico suggests that he isn’t in that form at present. That said, this isn’t the strongest field in the world so he should probably be respected even if not inked onto your betting slip. It is 33/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets this week and the first of those is Maverick McNealy, the former world number one amateur who looks to be clicking in the pro ranks. He was fifth at Pebble Beach last time out in a much better field than the one he comes up against here. There were two things to take out of that tournament. Firstly he made a lot of birdies and secondly he got on fine with the wind. Prior to that effort he recorded a top 15 at Torrey Pines, again highlighting he can handle the wind and performs in a better field. That form should equate to him going very close here if he takes to the course immediately.
Grayson Murray is another one who catches my eye. I always like him in events where you need a good putter because he is often one of the better putters on the Tour usually. His form hasn’t been spectacular this season but a top 10 at The American Express where low scores are needed shows he can still deliver the goods. His one PGA Tour win came in one of these secondary events when he landed the Barbasol Championship in 2017, where much the same qualities are required. In a poor field like this I think he is worth a go.
Outsiders
Dominic Bozelli sits third in the birdie or better conversion percentage on the PGA Tour this season, that is out of everyone in all the tournaments, so that is an excellent starting point. He was sixth in the Sandersons Farms Championship which is another positive so all we need is for him to keep the mistakes off his card. These greens are very big my modern standards so it is hard to see him missing too many, so with his putting the quality that it is he really should make his way into contention. He made the top 25 here last year and statistically rates a lot better this time around. At 150/1 I’ll pay to see how he goes.
If you look at the run of cuts that Kristoffer Ventura has had recently you wouldn’t possibly go near him, but I’m prepared to look beyond that and at some statistics, such as the seventh in birdie conversion or better, and the sixth where he ranks in strokes gained putting. His issues clearly come into the greens but there isn’t as much intensity on that part of the game here with the fairways often quite generous and the greens on the larger side. I don’t think it will take a lot for the talented Norwegian to go well here. Although he has missed six cuts on the spin, two of those have been with under par scores. You either like the west coast swing or you don’t, but we often see players break out straight after it. I’ll pay to see if Ventura is another of those.
Tips
Back M.McNealy to win Puerto Rico Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back G.Murray to win Puerto Rico Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back D.Bozelli to win Puerto Rico Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back K.Ventura to win Puerto Rico Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
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