Damien Kayat previews the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open taking place on the Composite Course at the Grand Reserve COuntry Club.
2021/2022 US PGA Tour
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Country Club (Composite Course), Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
3rd-6th March
Plenty at stake at this “low-key” event
You always have to feel for these ‘opposite’ events. A player can have the weekend of his career and the golfing world will barely register his achievement. But there is actually plenty at stake this week whilst the big dogs tee it up at Bay Hill.
Victory here will ensure your PGA Tour playing rights until the end of the 2023/2024 season. The Puerto Rico Open has always been played as an opposite event. But it has generally coincided with a WGC event.
This will be the first time it is played concurrently with the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Greg Kraft won the inaugural staging of this event back in 2008 and this will be the 14th edition of this event (the 2018 renewal was cancelled due to the havoc caused by Hurricane Maria).
Branden Grace won’t be defending his title this year, selecting to compete with the elite at Arnie’s playground. But few will forget his emotional victory last year having just recently lost his father to Covid 19.
GIR key here
Formally known as the Coco Beach Golf Club, Grand Reserve is a unique resort course that is actually a composite of two separate courses (which had previously been four nine-hole courses designed by Tom Kite in 2004).
The unique Paspalum grass will be familiar to anyone who has played the Mayakoba Classic at El Camaleon. This course plays at around 7,500 yards. That may sound long but many shorter hitters have triumphed here.
For every Tony Finau you have a Scott Brown on the winner’s rollcall. What you do from the tee seems to be largely irrelevant. Much like Bay Hill, it’s all about finding greens in regulation.
The real factor to deal with at this exposed layout is the wind. Branden Grace is a brilliant links exponent who hits the ball at a lower trajectory than most. That was key to his victory here last year.
Also look for players familiar with El Camaleon and Corales Golf Club (both of which feature this idiosyncratic Paspalum grass).
A sprinkling of big names
These events always offer an interesting variety of contenders. Former World Number One Luke Donald will be teeing it up this week. You have a healthy amount of grizzled PGA veterans looking to regain a semblance of relevance this week.
The likes of Aaron Baddelay and Bill Haas fall into that category. Then you have players like Mark Hubbard who generally ply their trade on the Korn Ferry Tour. The upper reaches of this week’s market has a distinctly European feel to it.
Matthias Schwab is coming off a top 10 finish at the Honda Classic and currently leads the markets. Wouldn’t it be crazy if he makes it back-to-back Austrian winners after Straka’s heroics last week?
The likes of Victor Perez and Rafa Cabrera Bello bring some much-needed pizzazz to proceedings.
Past Winners
2021: Branden Grace (-19)
2020: Viktor Hovland (-20)
2019: Martin Trainer (-15)
2018: tournament cancelled
2017: D.A Points (-20)
To Win Outright:
Matthias Schwab 20/1 | John Huh 22/1 | Joseph Bramlett 22/1 | Mark Hubbard 22/1 | Victor Perez 25/1
Value Bets
Peter Uihlein- To Win 45/1 | To Place 19/2
Uihlein is a player who has constantly underachieved throughout his career. But he has enjoyed some magnificent results in this event. He finished 6th here in 2013 and 5th in 2017. He won the Madeira Islands Open on the European Tour in 2013. That event also took place at a similarly wind-affected, coastal resort. He also seemed to trending well in last week’s Honda Classic, shooting a final round 68 (only eight players outscored him on Sunday afternoon).
Kevin Chappell- To Win 60/1 | To Place 13/1
At his peak, Kevin Chappell was a prodigious ball striker who collected four top 10 finishes in Major Championships. He has also been a runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tour Championship and Players Championship. He may be able to reassert himself in this very weak field. And there have been some signs of improvement for Chappell this year. He has made four of five cuts and ranked 8th and 6th for GIR at Torrey Pines and TPC Scottsdale respectively. This could prove a vital stat this week. He also has added motivation after being relegated to Former Winner status on tour. He needs all the FedEx Cup points he can get.
The Man to Beat- Kurt Kitayama- To Win 40/1 | To Place 17/2
I have to give DP World Tour alumni Kurt Kitayama the edge this week. Firstly, Kitayama has played here previously, finishing in a decent 17th place in 2017. The 29-year-old American is trying to do it the Koepka way, attempting to translate European success to American success. He has won two events in Europe at exposed venues such as this. But the thing that really strikes me is how he performed at last week’s Honda Classic. He actually led the event after an opening-round 64. He would ultimately finish 3rd and I can’t believe he isn’t shorter this week.
