|
Event Primer: Puerto Rico Open
By Bryan Douglass
The Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular
Trump International Golf Club @ Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
- Dates: Thursday, March 11th - Sunday, March 14th
- 2010 Purse: $3,500,000 (Winning Share: $630,000)
- FedEx Cup Points: 250 (Winning Share)
Tournament Schedule
First Round - Thursday, March 11 - 6:30pm EST The Golf Channel
Second Round - Friday, March 12 - 11:30am EST The Golf Channel
Third Round - Saturday, March 13 - 6:30pm EST The Golf Channel
Final Round - Sunday, March 14 - 7:30pm EST The Golf Channel
The Course
Trump International Golf Club
Course Par Value: 72
Course Yardage: 7,569
As the name suggests, this course - among the youngest to be found on the PGA Tour schedule - is as luxurious as any to be found in Latin America. The design of the grounds carries 36 holes, grouped in sets of nine laid into various natural geographic features (Mountain, Ocean, Lakes, and Palms). The holes vary greatly in terms of difficulty. There are bunkers and water to be found throughout, serving as the obstacles that will push these PGA competitors to find their best swings in order to compete.
The wind can be a factor at this venue, and as we saw last year, this can make short-iron play as important as ever. The greens are rather large and, for the most part, forgiving, but dead-eye putting is always needed to emerge victorious. However, in order to challenge for proper position to do so, the work done with short irons will be key and golfers that excel in those talents should be targeted by fantasy owners.
Holes to Watch
Hole 9 (Par 4, 455 yds): The length fails to impress but the prevailing winds can make a drive downhill into a dogleg right as challenging as any. The landing area is guarded by large palm trees on both sides of the fairway, trees that can hamper the approach if the golfer goes for extreme length off the tee. The green is shallow and thus a conservative approach throughout is the journey of choice to target this hole.
Hole 18 (Par 5, 630 yds): The course closes on a long par-5 offering that borders the famous Ensenada Bay, often played with the wind to the golfers back towards a fairway with bunkers to the right that will kill any hope of birdie. The distance can be misleading with the wind surging to the golfer's back, so the short irons become the weapon of choice if proper placement on the fairway is to be found. The green is large but the wash area behind the landing floor is venomous.
2009 Leaderboard
PLACE PLAYER FINAL
1 Michael Bradley -14 (274)
T2 Brett Quigley -13 (275)
T2 Jason Day -13 (275)
T4 Bart Bryant -12 (276)
T4 Greg Chalmers -12 (276)
T6 John Merrick -10 (278)
T6 J.P. Hayes -10 (278)
8 Jeff Overton -9 (279)
T9 Jerry Kelly -8 (280)
T9 D.A. Points -8 (280)
T9 Joe Durant -8 (280)
T9 Kent Jones -8 (280)
T13 Derek Lamely -7 (281)
T13 Jonathan Byrd -7 (281)
T13 Lee Janzen -7 (281)
T13 Patrick Sheehan -7 (281)
T13 Alex Cejka -7 (281)
T13 Chris Smith -7 (281)
T13 Bryce Molder -7 (281)
T13 Jay Williamson -7 (281)
2008 Leaderboard
PLACE PLAYER FINAL
1 Greg Kraft -14 (274)
T2 Jerry Kelly -13 (275)
T2 Bo Van Pelt -13 (275)
T4 Kevin Stadler -12 (276)
T4 Briny Baird -12 (276)
T6 Tim Wilkinson -11 (277)
T6 Marco Dawson -11 (277)
T6 Tommy Armour III -11 (277)
9 Brenden Pappas -10 (278)
T10 Steve Allan -8 (280)
T10 Larry Mize -8 (280)
T10 Ted Purdy -8 (280)
T13 Jon Mills -7 (281)
T13 John Merrick -7 (281)
The Field
With the bulk of the game's best playing in Miami at the WGC CA Championship, the Puerto Rico Open was developed to give some of the young up-and-coming names in the game an opportunity to fight for improved Tour status moving forward while the old guard could come in and enjoy a brief moment in the sun. There are Tour veterans in the mix, but the bulk of the field is filled with names you will rarely consider for fantasy starts.
For instance, Manuel Villegas, the younger brother of surging PGA phenom Camilo, will be on hand and playing at that Trump International. He is one of several talented Latin golfers that will be on the course and competing for a paycheck, a list that also includes Max Alverio, Rafael Campos, Cesar Costilla, Julio Santos, Miguel Suarez, Eric Morales, and Vance Veazey.
Jeev Milkha Singh surprises as an international power in the mix, failing to earn qualification to the WGC CA Championship as he continues to progress forward from injury. Other names of note include Mark Calcavecchia, Tim Herron, Alex Prugh, Alex Cejka, Charley Hoffman, Rory Sabbatini, Tom Kite, Brett Quigley, Kevin Stadler, Boo Weekley, Rocco Mediate, Joe Durant, John Mallinger, Bo Van Pelt, Steve Elkington, John Merrick, and the always-entertaining John Daly
To view the entire field, visit this link:
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r483/field.html
Enjoy.
|
