Tournament Information:
Corales Puntacana Championship
Date: March 24th – 27th
Course: Corales Golf Club
Purse: ($3.7mm to winner)
2021 Winner: Joel Dahmen (-12)
Course: Corales Golf Club
Opened in 2010 and designed by Tom Fazio, this par 72 course is lengthy (7,670 yards). The course sits by the Caribbean ocean right next to the water, cliffs, and some quarries. Palm trees run along many of the holes with scenic fairways and rolling hills throughout. Since it’s on the coast, wind will play a factor here. One of the highlights here is named the Devil’s Elbow, which is the last three holes. On hole 18, an aggressive jump over the water can pay off if the shot is hit correctly. As it closes out the course, it will be interesting to see how golfers approach this hole.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
My Starting 4
Kelly Kraft (first selection this year) – Kelly Kraft was a top 15 finisher here in 2019 AND 2021, that is about as solid as it gets. That’s the good. The bad is he has eight missed cuts and has two withdrawals across 13 tournaments this season. He is one of the best putters on tour but that’s about all you can hang on.
Kramer Hickok (first selection this year) — Hickok has top 25 finishes here recently. He’s been sitting in the middle lately, with four made cuts in the last seven tournaments, averaging finishes in the 30’s during those tournaments. He has a solid all around game with top 100 strokes gained off the tee, approaching the green, putting, and total.
Sahith Theegala (second selection this year) — The star of the WM Phoenix Open last month has continued going strong. He now has made the cut in seven out of the last nine tournaments. He was 7th last week at Valspar Championship, he’s now top 50 in FedEx ranking, and he ranks in the top 100 in strokes gained off-the-tee, approaching the green, around the green, and tee to green.
Chad Ramey (third selection this year) — Chad has missed a few cuts lately but he finished 5th at the Puerto Rico Open a few weeks ago and he’s top 200 in both FedEx Cup ranking AND OWGR. That 5th place finish was a high point for him and looks like he might be playing some of his best golf.
My Bench 2
David Hearn (second selection this year) — Hearn for years had a tendency of making cuts and living in that sub 40 space often overlooked. Here he has top 35 finishes in 2019, 2020, AND 2021. This year has not been as fortunate with a handful of missed cuts but I think he can rebound here.
Cameron Percy (third selection this year) — Cameron had an 8th place finish here in 2020. He finished 7th in Puerto Rico just a few weeks ago.
2021-2022 Stats
Start: Average Finish 48th (37th percentile)
Bench: Average Finish 51st (40th percentile)