The PGA Tour returns to America this week after the trip to Japan a week ago as the CJ Cup takes the attention. This is a tournament that is due to be held in Asia but with Korea not yet taking sports events on it is South Carolina where the 78 players in the field will battle it out.
Rory McIlroy won this tournament in America last year and although he will defend in the same country, he will do so on a different golf course. A really good field has qualified for the event so he’ll have to go well to retain his crown.
Recent Winners
2021 – Rory McIlroy
2020 – Jason Kokrak
2019 – Justin Thomas
2018 – Brooks Koepka
2017 – Justin Thomas
The Course
We are at the Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina this week. This Tom Fazio hosted the squashed into the schedule Palmetto Championship last season so it is known to players and punters alike. The course is a par 71 which is an absolute monster at 7,655 yards. Last year the track played firm and fast but that was in the height of summer. This time it is an autumn staging so the course is likely to play a little longer here.
The immediate thing is that there is no rough this week. It is all wasteland and bunkers much like places like Pinehurst where the US Open was held a while back. Everything is very level so there is a links feel to the course where balls can be run up onto the greens, although given the potential softness of the course players will probably take dead aim through the air. I’m looking for creative shot makers who have strength in their iron play this week.
The Field
78 players have made the field this week. That number is significant because it means there is no cut so all those teeing it up will play four rounds of golf. Rory McIlroy headlines the field as the FedExCup champion and the defending champion but there is a seriously strong cast in opposition to him. Among the Europeans looking to knock him off his perch are the recent Open de Espana winner Jon Rahm as well as the US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick.
There is a significant home charge in the field this week. It is led by the world number one Scottie Scheffler but includes the former winner of this event in Justin Thomas as well as Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns and the ZOZO champion Keegan Bradley. Bradley being in the field means the last two PGA Tour winners will be teeing it up because the Shriners champion Tom Kim also has a tee time. Sungjae Im, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa are all in the field too.
Market Leaders
Rory McIlroy is a 7/1 favourite to keep hold of his title this week. He comes into the event having gone 2-4-4 in three big events in Europe last month so he is in decent form. He didn’t tee it up here last year in the Palmetto so that might be a negative to his chances but the course he won on a year ago was designed by Tom Fazio just like this one is. McIlroy might be a worthy favourite but this is a strong field. He’s as long as anyone which could be significant.
Jon Rahm is the second favourite to make it two wins in a month after he landed the Open de Espana on the DP World Tour a couple of weeks ago. He is another who didn’t tee it up in the Palmetto last year but having been second at the BMW PGA Championship on his start prior to winning in Spain he is clearly in good touch. He has the length to tame this beast and the touch with the shorter clubs to do some damage. He can’t be ruled out.
Scottie Scheffler is a 12/1 third favourite to win the tournament. We haven’t seen him in strokeplay since he messed up the Tour Championship in the final round and although he played in the Presidents Cup in between his game there wasn’t in great shape and that was a good month ago now so he could easily be rusty heading in here. He didn’t play the Palmetto here last year either so he is starting out blind compared to some which is enough to put me off him.
Justin Thomas is the only other player shorter than 20/1 in the field this week. He is 16/1 to walk off with this title for a third time, although it should be said his other two wins were both in Korea. This will be the first time he plays a strokeplay event since the end of last season so he too might need to shake off some rust but like the three above at least he wasn’t in Japan last week. He also has the length to do some damage here.
Main Bets
Sungjae Im took down the Shriners Open around this time of the year in 2021 and I think he could well add this title to his collection. He didn’t really feature at the ZOZO last week but he was in the top 10 at the Shriners in the defence of his title the week before. He finished T35 in the Palmetto here a year ago but he opened up with a 75 which stopped him in his tracks immediately. He shot seven under for the last three rounds though which was good scoring on a tough course. Im is one of the best players in the game into the greens and we’ve seen for a while that he is regularly delivering the goods on them. When you add in that this is a big tournament for Korean golf then their leading light can please everyone involved by taking the title.
In that Shriners Open last year, Im saw off Sam Burns in a low scoring contest and it might well be that Burns is his closest challenger here as well. Burns looks ideally suited to this course. His long game rivals anyone in the world and we saw at the Presidents Cup that he has a hot putter at the minute which can sort him out from plenty. Burns is a top class player who is probably looking for that elite event to go on his CV. This doesn’t have the heritage or tradition of some but you look down the field and it is stacked. Burns was arguably the best player for America at the Presidents Cup but Scottie Scheffler dragged him down. With his own ball only I think he can go well here.
Outsiders
Keith Mitchell should be nicely suited to this course. He is actually sneaky long off the tee these days and we know that he usually peppers the greens either on approach or with a decent short game. When he does falter it can be off the tee but this course offers no demons off the tee. Mitchell shook off some rust at the Shriners where he started brightly but faded away a touch. He did play here last year but missed the cut but on a softer track where he’ll be able to control the ball better I think he is worth a chance here.
Rickie Fowler looks to be coming back to the boil and after a near miss last week he could be primed to go one better this week. Fowler led the ZOZO heading into the final round but couldn’t repel the charge of Keegan Bradley but he didn’t do massive amounts wrong on the final day. That followed up a top 10 at the Fortinet to begin the season so there are signs that Fowler is starting to show us some of his best stuff again. With no demons off the tee on this course and his iron play improving again, if he isn’t jaded from the travelling he could be in for a big week.
Tips
Back S.Im to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-7)
Back S.Burns to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back R.Fowler to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back K.Mitchell to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-6)
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