With the cancellation of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship last season, the PGA Tour will make two stops in the Dominican Republic this season. The first takes place starting Thursday as a stand-alone event and with a full allotment of FedExCup points to the winner for the first time in the tournament’s history. Typically an alternate field event, it will return in that capacity in March opposite the WGC. In the meantime valuable points are waiting for a field that’s void of big name players either resting after the U.S. Open or opting not to travel. That leaves a wide-open field that has Will Zalatoris as the current betting favorite. There is also a golden opportunity to make some coin on matchups. Check out the latest matchup odds at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager.
Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kurt Kitayama -145 vs. Ben Martin +125
James Hahn -115 vs. Doug Ghim -105
Chris Kirk -145 vs. Graeme McDowell +125
Will Gordon -120 vs. Matt Jones +100
Xinjun Zhang -120 vs. Kyle Stanley +100
Kevin Chappell -115 vs. Matthew NeSmith -105
Henrik Norlander +120 vs. Jhonattan Vegas -140
Charley Hoffman +105 vs. Sepp Straka -125
Matthias Schwab -105 vs. Thomas Detry -115
Denny McCarthy -125 vs. Pat Perez +105
Adam Long +100 vs. Charles Howell III -120
Mackenzie Hughes +110 vs. Sam Burns -130
Will Zalatoris -160 vs. Mackenzie Hughes +140
Patton Kizzire -110 vs. Ryan Armour -110
Henrik Stenson +115 vs. Denny McCarthy -135
J.J. Spaun -135 vs. Chris Stroud +115
Corey Conners -125 vs. Mackenzie Hughes +105
C.T. Pan +110 vs. Joseph Bramlett -130
Keith Mitchell -165 vs. Bo Hoag +145
Rob Oppenheim +110 vs. Sam Ryder -130
Beau Hossler -145 vs. Kyoung-Hoon Lee +125
Wes Roach +110 vs. Vaughn Taylor -130
Seamus Power -110 vs. Cameron Percy -110
Brian Stuard +165 vs. Luke List -190
Patrick Rodgers -145 vs. Brice Garnett +125
Kristoffer Ventura -105 vs. Thomas Detry -115
Adam Schenk -125 vs. Branden Grace +105
Adam Long -115 vs. Emiliano Grillo -105
Henrik Stenson -105 vs. Pat Perez -115
Matthias Schwab -110 vs. Kristoffer Ventura -110
Emiliano Grillo +100 vs. Charles Howell III -120
Corey Conners -115 vs. Sam Burns -105
Will Zalatoris -145 vs. Sam Burns +125
Will Zalatoris -130 vs. Corey Conners +110
Need to Know
The Corales Course at Puntacana Resort will be much easier than the treacherous layout at Winged Foot. By no means is it a pushover, though. It’s one of the longest tracks the players will see at 7,666 yards and has coastal elements to deal with since it sits at the eastern edge of the island. The distance and open fairways play to big hitters, but the course will reward ball-strikers and birdie makers. The field hit more than 70 percent of fairways in the last two Tour events here making this a second shot and short game sprint. To prove just how unpredictable it can get, Graeme McDowell won last year’s edition outright after carding an opening 73. So there is hope.
Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship Matchup Picks
Will Zalatoris -130 vs. Corey Conners
It’s hard not to notice the rise of Zalatoris. At the start of the year he was No. 672 in the rankings. Fast forward after a stunning T6 at the U.S. Open and he’s up to No. 76. If you paid attention to the Korn Ferry Tour you may have seen this coming. In his last 16 starts on the lower-tier circuit all he did was register one victory among his 10 top-10s in 16 starts. His is making the journey from New York, but if he can tame Winged Foot this layout should be easy.
Pat Perez -115 vs. Henrik Stenson
Perez stands out because of his success on paspalum turf. It may be a stretch and you’re buying him at negative odds, but the results are extreme. The last two of his three career Tour victories – Mayakoba Classic and CIMB Classic – were on this specific grass type. And his numbers on those courses were outrageous. Touch on and around the greens will be a determining factor and for some reason Perez has it on paspalum. That’s not the only reason I’m backing him. Perez is coming off a T9 on another resort course, Silverado, a few weeks ago.
Mackenzie Hughes +110 vs. Sam Burns
This is going to be an interesting matchup between two strong players. They are both among the favorites and I was a little surprised to see Hughes offered at plus odds. Missing the cut at Winged Foot stopped a run of nine straight made cuts that included five top-15s in his last eight starts. It’s hard to ignore recent form and the few extra days will benefit him this week at a course that yielded him two rounds of 66 and a runner-up finish last year.
Graeme McDowell +125 vs. Chris Kirk
You can buy McDowell at this price for a reason. His game has suffered with four straight MCs and seven MCs in nine events since the restart. I do see value in this pick, though. The laid-back resort atmosphere will help McDowell locate his swing, and knowing that he’s performed well here in the past will help his confidence. G-Mac won last year’s edition after opening with a 73 giving him so wiggle room to figure things out.
Patton Kizzire -110 vs. Ryan Armour
Kizzire is another player struggling to find his game and is probably a riskier bet than McDowell. His long drives will certainly benefit from the wide fairways and he is fond of coastal courses with his two career victories coming at El Camaleon and Waialae, which makes me feel better about the pick. I think he’ll find the course more manageable and that provides a level of comfort that will take him to the weekend.
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