Weekly Preview: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

Corales Golf Club
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic  

The PGA continues its trip back in time this week as the penultimate event of the 2019-2020 season takes place in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It's a little odd that of the three events taking place after the start of the 2020-2021 season, this one is the only non-major, but it is what it is. Speaking of said major, I guess the bomb-and-gouge strategy can work at a U.S. Open. Of course, it helps if the golfer employing that strategy is Bryson DeChambeau, who happens to hit the ball further than anyone on Tour. It will be interesting to see how many guys come back in January with a little more bulk than this year. It would be fun to see Charles Howell III add 40 pounds of muscle on that frame, but my guess is it will be mostly the younger guys trying to employ DeChambeau's strategy. 

As for this week, as you might expect, the field is very thin, but as is often the case at these types of events, we've got some younger talent in play hoping to break through for that first PGA Tour win.

Last Year

Graeme McDowell shot a final-round 69 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Mackenzie Hughes and Chris Stroud.

FAVORITES

Will Zalatoris (14-1)

Well, this is certainly interesting. A guy that not many had heard of prior to the U.S. Open is the co-favorite this week after posting a top-10 at Winged Foot. Zalatoris dominated the Korn Ferry Tour this year, but being installed as a favorite this week is a little ridiculous. Zalatoris should play well, but a win seems highly unlikely. The field is thin, but there's still plenty of talent out there.

Corey Conners (14-1)

Conners is one of the bigger names in the field, which is why he's listed as a co-favorite. Conners track record here isn't great, with a MC and a T13, which gives you an idea of how low the bar is set to be a favorite this week. Conners is not in great form either as he's missed the cut in three of his past five starts and he hasn't carded a top-20 since mid-June. There's no value in this play.

Mackenzie Hughes (14-1)

Now here's a favorite we can get behind. Hughes should be the lone favorite as he's the only one of the bunch with both a good track record at this event and solid form. Hughes finished runner-up at this event in his only start here last year and his form has been good for the past month. Hughes played his way into the TOUR Championship with a pair of top-15s at the The Northern Trust and the BMW and he parlayed that into a solo 14th at the TOUR Championship.

THE NEXT TIER

Sam Burns (18-1)

Burns got off to a rough start last season, but he turned it on near the end of the season and carried that momentum over into the first event of the 2020-21 campaign. Burns seems to have it figured out now and should start to make his soon. He played well here last year on his way to a T12.

Charles Howell III (20-1)

Howell III has been one of the most reliable golfers on the PGA Tour for the past couple decades and he still hasn't shown many signs of slowing down. Over the past few years, he's excelled particularly well during the fall portion of the season and while this event counts towards last season, it's taking place in the midst of the fall portion of the season and Howell III knows how to take advantage.

Adam Long (20-1)

Long is in the midst of a solid season and with two events left in the 2019-20 season, he's looking to build upon a career-high in earnings. Long has posted two runner-ups this season and he's coming in off a solid T13 at the U.S. Open this past week. Long has one win on his resume already, so nerves won't be an issue if he's in position this week.

LONG SHOTS

Xinjun Zhang (50-1)

Zhang posted a couple solid scores earlier in the season when he finished T7 at the 2019 Safeway Open and T4 at the Houston Open. He also played well at the Safeway Open two weeks ago and seems to be set up for another strong finish this week. Zhang did not play this event last year, but he did post a T5 in 2018.                  

Will Gordon (60-1)  

Remember Will Gordon? He was Will Zalatoris before Will Zalatoris was Will Zalatoris. In other words, he was the next big thing just a couple months ago, but since he's struggled for the past couple months, he's no longer on anyone's radar. This is often where players like Gordon break through -- when no one is paying attention. Gordon has the skill to win out here, he just needs to figure out how to navigate the PGA Tour as a professional.                              

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-owned Pick: Mackenzie Hughes - I never thought I would see it, but Hughes should be the most popular pick this week and by a wide margin. Hughes has come into his own this season and is in a spot that he's never been in as a PGA Tour member as one of the favorites. Who knows how he'll handle these expectations, but if he stays grounded, there's no reason to think he'll be anywhere but the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Moderately-owned Pick: Will Zalatoris - People like the next big thing and OAD players are no exception. People also like getting in on something before the masses do and while the secret is apparently out, there still might be some that didn't pay attention this past week and aren't aware of Zalatoris. I wouldn't bet him to win, but he's certainly a threat to contend.

Lightly-owned Pick: Xinjun Zhang - Zhang is completely under the radar right now and that's likely because most of his success has come during the fall season, but as mentioned earlier, though this isn't a fall event because it's part of the 2019-2020 schedule, it's essentially a fall event.

Buyer Beware: Graeme McDowell - As the defending champ and with not many notable names in the field, it might be easy to use McDowell in this spot, but his form over the past few months has been awful. McDowell has missed the cut in his four most recent starts, and he hasn't posted a top-30 since January.

Last Week: Tyrrell Hatton - (MC) - $0

Season Total: $7,251,971

This Week: Mackenzie Hughes - There's no reason to get fancy here. While Hughes isn't a top-tier golfer yet, he's been very reliable this season and he doesn't have a lot of competition this week. While I have everyone available from this field, this decision wasn't difficult. I did consider Burns and Zhang however.

FANDUEL PICKS  

Upper Range: Mackenzie Hughes ($11,500)
Middle Range: Brian Stuard ($9,900)
Lower Range: George McNeill ($7,000)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

Last Week: Justin Thomas (T8) - Streak - 4

This Week: Mackenzie Hughes - There are only two years of history of this being a PGA event, so there's no player that has a long string of success here, which means if you can find someone with good form and any kind of success here, that's your guy. Again, Hughes fits the bill for that as well. There's no reason to think he'll miss the cut this week, unless he's too big time for this event now.