GOLFICITY BETS: The 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship Gambling Guide

The Corales Puntacana Tournament Preview

Even though Bryson DeChambeau ended up slaying the field, it’s fair to say that the U.S. Open was a fascinating spectacle from start to finish.

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This week’s event, the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, will probably be less interesting, but long-times golf bettors will tell you off the record that this kind of low key, low class tournament does just occasionally get the motor running.

The Dominican Republic is a nice place to be at the best of times, but when you’re earning a living blasting your ball around the wide-open Corales GC it doesn’t really get any better than that!

The Corales Puntacana Course Preview

When a field devoid of quality can fire -18, you know already that Corales GC is there for the taking.

There is very little danger anywhere on this real estate. The fairways are super wide, the rough is there but only if you completely lose your radar, and the fairway bunkers are so shallow the players can hit out of them almost as if the sand was grass.

And then we have the Paspalum greens – a rare strain of grass on the PGA TOUR, of course, but one that the players tend to find agreeable given how slow the surfaces run.

The only major concern at Corales GC is the wind, which can blow a trouser-shaking gust at times. But even then the forecast is pretty benign this week, and so if the wind is at standard levels then clearly there is a low score to be had out there.

Tom Fazio is known as one of the most prominent designers in world golf, but he had an off-day when he drew up the blueprints for Corales – even if it does look stunning on the eye!

The Corales Puntacana Outright Winner

When you look at a similar event to the Corales Puntacana, the Puerto Rico Open, we’ve seen two premium operators in Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland open their PGA TOUR win accounts.

There’s a few candidates in this field who could follow suit, but it’s actually a player who has been running super-hot these past few months who really appeals. 

Mackenzie Hughes reached the TOUR Championship last season, which is a display of his quality and consistency. He makes his money through his elite-level short game – he ranked inside the top-10 for both Strokes Gained Around-the-Green and Putting, and an easy course like Corales will hide some of the Canadian’s inefficiencies.

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Since the resumption of golf, Hughes has banked a trio of top-10s and in strong events too – in this field, he stands out a country mile.

The Corales Puntacana Top 5 Finish Pick

While a different type of player, Graeme McDowell showed at Corales GC last year that the older dogs can still have their day in a field of hungry young talents.

It’s one reason why Charles Howell III appeals this week, because here’s an outstanding talent who is simmering into form – despite his advancing years.

His short game could be a difference-maker at the business end of this tournament, and in grafting out a top-30 at the U.S. Open he showed his true class.

A former winner of the RSM Classic, CHIII clearly enjoys these windy, coastal tests.

The Corales Puntacana Top 10 Finish Pick

One angle that some bettors might want to explore this week is the possibility that there is some rain in the offing over the weekend.

If that does come, suddenly this 7,600 yard stretch could play plenty long, and that’s when having a bit of extra length off the tee will come in handy.

They don’t come much longer than Kristoffer Ventura, who ranked 28th on Tour last season for Driving Distance, but there’s some class to his finishing of holes as well – he ranked fourth in SG: Putting too.

A two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner, Ventura stands out in this company and his T7 finish at the Safeway Open last time out highlighted the immense potential that he possesses.

The Corales Puntacana Top 20 Finish Pick

For all the ease of Corales GC, there is an advantage at any golf course in the world for somebody who can drive the ball in a straight line and a long way.

Will Gordon has shown real quality off the tee in his young career so far, and while other aspects of his game need work here’s a guy who ranked fourth for GIR and 25th for Birdie Average in 2019-20.

We’ve namechecked Finau and Hovland already; two sublime talents who showed their class in weak-field events. Could Gordon join the club this week?

The Corales Puntacana Match-up to Watch

Often in these events it’s a hot putter that separates glory from another week at the office.

A player who clearly has an abundance of talent is Corey Conners, but the Canadian still finds putting an absolute mystery and given his position at the head of the market he can be easily opposed here.

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He can be taken on in matchups with Mackenzie Hughes and Sam Burns, another excellent young prospect who hits the ball along way and has an excellent touch with the putter.

Who to Fade this Week

In weak field events, there is a temptation to bet on players who have previously ascended to the top of the sport.

Henrik Stenson is a former major champion who has won countless titles around the world, but the Swede has been well short of his best form for quite some time.

Even at his best, this is not a course where you would necessarily see him perform to his strengths, and so he can be swerved here with some confidence.

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