With the more high-profile players taking part in this week’s WGC in Mexico or not competing at all, the field is wide open for golfers lower down the food chain to pick up some FedEx Cup points and a PGA Tour belt at the Puerto Rico Open. After getting hurricaned out last year, the field returns to the Coco Beach Golf and Country Club with Daniel Berger the betting favorite at +1250 at BookMaker.eu. It’s a tight group of competitors at the top of the odds list making the matchups for this week even more intriguing. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen is one of the bigger names in the field and he grabbed a runner-up finish here two years ago. Below is a list of matchup odds at BookMaker.eu.
Puerto Rico Open Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Roberto Diaz +110 vs. Tom Hoge -130
Derek Fathauer +125 vs. Sebastian Munoz -145
Martin Piller +105 vs. Tyrone Van Aswegen -135
Dicky Pride -120 vs. Jason Gore -110
Daniel Berger -150 vs. Graeme McDowell +130
Peter Uihlein +100 vs. Graeme McDowell -120
Chris Kirk -140 vs. Retief Goosen +120
Adam Schenk -125 vs. Shawn Stefani -105
Daniel Berger -125 vs. Peter Uihlein +105
Scott Brown -110 vs. Charl Schwartzel -110
Scott Brown -125 vs. Corey Conners +105
Sangmoon Bae +105 vs. Cameron Davis -125
Aaron Baddeley -120 vs. Matt Every +100
Aaron Baddeley -125 vs. Matt Jones +105
Ollie Schniederjans +100 vs. Nate Lashley -120
Julian Etulain -125 vs. Andres Romero +105
Alex Prugh -110 vs. D.J. Trahan -120
Kyoung-Hoon Lee -120 vs. Robert Garrigus -110
Whee Kim -105 vs. Adam Svensson -115
Freddie Jacobson +110 vs. David Hearn -130
Roberto Castro -115 vs. Sam Horsfield -105
Dominic Bozzelli -135 vs. Rafael Campos +115
Fabian Gomez -145 vs. Curtis Luck +125
Johnson Wagner -110 vs. Wyndham Clark -110
Ben Silverman -125 vs. Cameron Tringale +105
Kramer Hickok +100 vs. Jonathan Byrd -120
Tom Lovelady +105 vs. Wes Roach -135
Jim Knous -120 vs. Joey Garber -110
D.A. Points +105 vs. David Lingmerth -135
Charl Schwartzel +100 vs. Corey Conners -120
Tyler Duncan -135 vs. Sepp Straka +115
Robert Streb -105 vs. Ryan Blaum -115
Boo Weekley +105 vs. Chad Campbell -135
Matt Every +120 vs. Matt Jones -140
Need to Know
Coco Beach Golf and Country Club has hosted this event every year it’s been played and this week it gets to show off recovery efforts from last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria. And though it stretches out to over 7,500 yards, the layout isn’t difficult. You might think the big hitters have an advantage, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Every par 4 hole measures less than 460 yards making them potential easy scores. The length is due to several par 5s that reach between 530 and 640 yards. There are a number of man-made water hazards and a generous supply of bunkers to provide obstacles. Steer clear of those and the rest is gravy. The fairways are wide and the greens are above average-sized. The forecast is favorable, though the coastal layout is exposed to wind and that will come into play.
Puerto Rico Open Matchup Picks
Scott Brown -110 vs. Charl Schwartzel
Picking a winner in a tournament with so many players is difficult enough; having to choose from a field that’s as close as this makes it darn near impossible. That’s why I’m leaning toward Scott Brown. I had to lean somewhere and why not on a guy that’s nearly owned this layout. He’s been unable to make the step up in grade, but if all his events were here he’d be in the top-10 world rankings. Brown is second on the event’s all-time earnings list and he’s a cool 6 for 6 on the Coco Beach track with five top-20s in six career appearances and a title in 2013. Recently he took a share of ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Aaron Baddeley -120 vs. Matt Every
Baddeley is an intriguing figure in this event and he opened below his matchup partner on the individual odds board. In no way does that mean he’s less of a player. A rediscovered putting stroke led him to a T4 at Silverado and a T18 at the Desert Classic to start the season. He’s looking like the player from a few years ago that was ready to make a leap up the rankings only to stall. The Melbourne native is accustomed to coastal layouts and some of his best events have come in that location, including a T8 in his only appearance here in 2016. Every has been just good enough to make the cut in eight straight starts, but he’s failed to do any damage and I don’t see him breaking through here.
Rafael Campos +115 vs. Dominic Bozzelli
If there is an angle to play for this tournament, how about the hometown kid upsets the field for a victory? That would be fine with Campos, the only ranked Puerto Rican in the field. He won on the Web.com Tour in the Bahamas last month and he’s played in every edition of the PR Open, having his best finishes in the last two. He led after 18 holes before settling for a share of eighth in 2016. He followed that with a T10 in 2017, turning that into two more Tour starts where he finished 7th and 32nd. He’s proud his homeland has recovered from the devastation of Maria and is ready to show his appreciation on the course.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu. The Puerto Rico Open is scheduled for February 21-24 and can be seen on Golf Channel.
