What a crazy week in golf. So much happened in the span of a few days, it was hard to keep up. Now, we head down to not only the low country, but the slow country. Time to relax in South Carolina at Congaree Golf Club.
This week is usually the RBC Canadian Open, whose defending champion is Rory McIlroy, but due to COVID-19 it’s been cancelled 2 seasons in a row. This tournament is just a one year replacement.
Before we get into the field, I’ll warn you, it’s not great. But if it makes you feel better, we’re only a week away from the US Open.
Field
Dustin Johnson, who is somehow still holding onto the World No. 1 title, is in his home state this week. He’s made 4 starts since the match play, his best finish came at the RBC Heritage where he tied for 13th. Other than that he’s missed 2 cuts at the 2 majors and tied for 48th at the Valspar. Hopefully this week he can find some form before he heads out to San Diego.
Brooks Koepka, one half of the best rivalry in the game right now, is back. His last appearance was the PGA Championship, where he was the runner-up to 50 year old Phil Mickelson. I’m guessing Brooksy is using this week for a tune-up.
Other names in the field include Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, and Tommy Fleetwood.
Course
Congaree Golf Club
7,655 yards
Par 71
2017 Tom Fazio design
Bermuda greens
Weather
Key Stats
This week is gonna be tricky. We’ve never been here before for a Tour stop, so we have nothing to go off of.
The fairways are generous, and there is no rough on the golf course. Fairways turn into sandy areas, so players can find some trouble if they don’t take advantage of the wide landing zones.
If the course is dry, it’ll play firm and fast – so the sticker yardage given above is a bit misleading. Drives will have run, so it’ll play much shorter. But again, that’s a reason you have to hit these fairways. If you don’t, you’ll be a loonnggg way back.
Data Golf Information
None. Again, it always sucks when we’re at a new course, makes the betting process a whole lot tougher.
Betting Odds
Twilight 9 Best Bets
In one of the weakest fields of the season, it’s gonna be hard to find value on the board. Matty Fitz is usually around +3000 win, but this week, he’s +1400. So we’re gonna have to search high and low to have a good tourney.
South Carolina native Kevin Kisner is always a good guy to look at on Bermuda greens.
He recently broke a streak of 6 straight missed cuts at the Charles Schwab with a T40. This hasn’t been the season Kisner wanted, but hopefully on a putting surface he’s comfortable with he’ll have another solid appearance.
In his last 36 rounds on Bermuda greens, he’s 5th on Tour in SG: Putting. He hits a lot of fairways, 69.94% which ranks 9th on Tour. He lacks distance, but with firm fairways, he’ll get more distance.
The main concern is his iron play. He was 2nd to last in SG: APP at the Charles Schwab, and on the year he ranks 136th in that same category.
Top 30 (+125) Fanduel
Alex Noren has been rounding into form of late.
In his last 6 starts, he has 5 Top 25s – including a T13 at the Memorial last week. He’s another guy on this list whose stats just aren’t that impressive, but recently they’ve been better.
He only hits 55% of fairways, but with generous landing areas this week, that number should go up.
He’s still looking for his first PGA Tour win, and I think in a weaker field, especially with the way he’s been playing, I could see him making a run this week.
Top 20 (+150) Fanduel
Ian Poulter has been playing pretty consistent golf over the last few months.
He had a Top 30 at the Masters, Top 25 at the Valspar, was T30 at the PGA, and most recently finished T3 at the Charles Schwab.
He’s one of the best putters on Tour, ranking 7th in SG: Putting. Along with Kisner, Poults is a guy who can struggle with his iron play. On the year he ranks 164th in SG: APP.
Top 20 (+150) Fanduel
Keith Mitchell is a Sea Island guy, and loves him some Bermuda greens.
SG wise he’s a terrible putter, but Bermuda is by far his best surface – his win back in 2019 came at the Honda, Bermuda greens.
He’s incredible with the driver, Top 20 on Tour this season is SG: OTT.
Since missing the cut at the PLAYERS, Keith has made 7 starts: 6/7 made cuts, 3 Top 20s (2 of which are Top 5s), highlighted by a great performance at the Wells Fargo where he was the 54 hole leader.
Top 30 (+160) Fanduel
One more Carolina kid. J.T. Poston.
He had early year back to back Top 20s at the Farmers and WMPO, but since has been inconsistent.
His best recent finish was a T26 at the Wells Fargo. He made the cut at the Memorial, but finished near the bottom of the leaderboard thanks to a tough weekend.
He’s 6th on Tour over his last 36 rounds on Bermuda in SG: P, no surprise as he grew up on that surface. His iron play is what kills him, so hopefully he can flash some good ball-striking this week.
Top 40 (+130) Fanduel
Taking a bit of a flyer on this one, Tommy Fleetwood.
He’s still looking for his first PGA Tour win, and I think it’d be pretty fitting for it to come on the first links style golf course we’ve seen on the PGA Tour in recent memory.
Since the beginning of April, he’s only played in 4 events. 2 of those are missed cuts, but he did finish inside the Top 15 at the Wells Fargo.
His short game has been great this season, as he’s 4th in SG: ATG. The one thing that kills him is driving accuracy. But the fairways this week are generous, so hopefully that number goes up.
Top 20 (-105) Fanduel
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