Corales Puntacana Reort & Club Championship: Betting odds, props & picks

If Bryson DeChambeau’s bulging muscles and monster drive are anything to go by, you’d be forgiven for thinking that smashing the ball long off the tee was the only way to win golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. The American’s huge gains helped power him to success in the U.S. Open, and while driving distance is always going to be key, it isn’t the be all and end all.

Take for instance this week’s Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the beautiful Dominican Republic. Under the sunny skies, looking out to the coast, this will be a far easier test than Winged Foot and don’t be surprised to see plenty of birdies going in over the next four days.

This is a real test of who has the hottest putter. There isn’t much wind forecast and the last two winners here, Graeme McDowell and Brice Garnett, both ranked outside the top 50 for driving distance, but both ranked first for putting average.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on anyone with form at El Camaleon (the Mayakoba Golf Classic) and Coco Beach Course (Puerto Rico Open) as they are both similar geographies and played on the same paspalum-grass courses. McDowell won the Mayakoba Golf Classic before winning this event and that might give us a few clues when checking out prop bets.

Top 20 finish: Sam Ryder (+335)

Let’s start with beach-loving American Sam Ryder. His form is honestly hopeless, and he’s missed five cuts in his last six events, but if you’re willing to forgive that admittedly huge blemish on his record, Ryder has plenty going for him.

He was second at this course when it was part of the Korn Ferry Tour, and was third in the Puerto Rico Open in February, which suggests a liking for the paspalum grass.

He ranks well in birdie average among this weaker-than-usual field, and I fancy the course to reignite Ryder and fire him to a Top 20 finish.

Top Asian: Lee Kyoung-hoon (+400)

Xinjun Zhang heads this market, but I’m backing Lee Kyoung-hoon to upset the odds in the Dominican.

Lee played this course on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017 and finished eighth despite having the lead going into the final round. He also finished in the Top 15 of the Puerto Rico Open this year, which is a nice piece of correlating form.

He finished inside the Top 30 two starts ago in the Northern Trust and was eighth in shots gained putting in that event. This is a significantly weaker standard and Kyoung-hoon can take advantage.

Top 10 finish: Pat Perez (+350)

I love Pat Perez for this event and will be backing him outright, so +350 for a Top 10 finish looks very appealing.

The Texan not only has an outstanding mullet, but some nice correlating course form as well, winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2016 and finishing in the Top 10 there in 2019 and 2018. He’s actively called out his love for paspalum greens in interviews as well.

Throw in a Top 10 finish in the Safeway Open last time out, a tournament where he ranked second in strokes gained putting, and Perez is ticking a lot of boxes. If he can keep the flat-stick hot this week he has a great chance of reaffirming his love with this kind of course.

Top GB & Ireland: Seamus Power (+200)

Finally, I fancy Seamus Power to upset reigning champ Graeme McDowell in this prop market.

Power finished 44th in this event last year, but before that had two Top 10 finishes here, and the argument for a good showing is backed up by his putting. Last year he ranked eighth on tour for shots gained around the green and fifth for birdie average – although his overall results didn’t reflect his strong play on the greens.

This time around he can outperform anyone else from GB and Ireland, and while he may not win the event, he can help us pocket some profit from this prop bet.