PGA First Look: The CJ Cup
The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.
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Other than the fact that we don’t have Shot Tracker for the Asia swing, it’s a nice change of pace for the PGA Tour. We get to sweat our lineups at night on some impressive courses. This week the PGA Tour heads to South Korea for the very first edition of the CJ Cup. We have an interesting field on tap with some of the best golfers in the world and a few that you’ve probably never heard of. There are 78 golfers in the field — 60 from 2017 FedEx Cup list, five from the KPGA , two from Asian Tour, the top three Koreans in OWGR, and eight sponsor invites. Similar to last week, there is no cut, which places an added emphasis on golfers that can score.
When playing DFS, I like to have as much information as possible. While that’s not the case this week, it’s fun to try to predict how scoring will play out on a new course. Nine Bridges is a Par 72 that measures just under 7,200 yards. It features four par fives and is on the shorter spectrum of Par 72s that are played on the PGA Tour. The course is located on Jeju Island, which is a volcanic island that is 3,500 feet above sea level. The elevation isn’t as extreme as say, Denver, but the ball will travel a bit further this week, which is an adjustment players will have to make. There are eight bridges on the golf course and the name “Nine Bridges” is metaphorical as it’s supposed to represent the club’s connection to its member (a little cheesy, but this place is sweet).
The course starts with the outward nine that is called the Creek holes. These fairways are heavily lined with trees and there is a creek that runs through a number of holes. The inward nine is known as the Highlands. The course features a lot of dog legs and a good mix of both short and long holes. It sounds like landing zones off the tee are generous by PGA Tour standards, but you can get into some real trouble if you are wild off the tee. Water is in play on nearly half of the holes and the course is littered with over a hundred bunkers. No two holes here are played in the same direction, so we’ll want to check the wind before lineups lock on Wednesday evening. It sounds like the course is a solid all-around test of golf, but don’t forget that this is a resort course and these are professionals. The 18th hole should provide a fun finish, as it is a par five that has an island green. With a perfect drive, golfers that need to make up ground may try to go for it in two.
If I find anything else about the course throughout the week, I’ll make sure to post the details here. It sounds like the course brought in bentgrass for the greens, which is very rare for this part of the world. As far as the weather is concerned, it’s expected to be 60-70 degrees with little to no rain, which is a stark contrast from the hot and humid conditions in Kuala Lumpur last week. For stats this week, I’m going to look for golfers that can keep it in play off the tee (not too wild), good iron players, and birdie makers. I’ll also be looking at par five scoring, as there are four on the scorecard that golfers will need to take advantage of.
Cut Rule:No cut this week. Barring a withdrawal, all golfers will play four rounds.
Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)
1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Par 5 Scoring
3) Strokes Gained Off the Tee
4) Birdie or Better %
5) Strokes Gained Putting (emphasis on Bentgrass greens)
Salaries & Odds
Golfer | DK Salary | FD Salary | FDRFT Salary | OWGR | Odds | DK Odds | FD Odds | FDRFT Odds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Justin Thomas | $12,100 | $10,300 | $19,600 | 4 | 7 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Paul Casey | $11,600 | $9,700 | $18,400 | 14 | 11 | 0% | 50% | 0% |
Jason Day | $10,600 | $10,200 | $18,100 | 9 | 12 | 0% | -50% | 0% |
Tony Finau | $10,200 | $9,300 | $16,800 | 45 | 21 | -50% | 0% | 0% |
Marc Leishman | $9,900 | $9,500 | $16,900 | 16 | 20 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Xander Schauffele | $9,800 | $8,900 | $17,300 | 29 | 18 | 33% | 56% | 0% |
Patrick Reed | $9,500 | $9,200 | $16,700 | 23 | 26 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Pat Perez | $9,400 | $8,200 | $16,600 | 20 | 27 | 0% | 38% | 0% |
Anirban Lahiri | $9,200 | $6,500 | $16,200 | 65 | 33 | -33% | 57% | -9% |
Keegan Bradley | $9,100 | $7,400 | $16,500 | 64 | 28 | 10% | 50% | 0% |
Rafael Cabrera-Bello | $9,000 | $8,600 | $16,200 | 21 | 34 | -18% | -30% | -18% |
Cameron Smith | $8,900 | $6,200 | $15,800 | 124 | 40 | -17% | 61% | 0% |
Russell Henley | $8,800 | $6,900 | $15,600 | 48 | 41 | -23% | 36% | 0% |
Daniel Berger | $8,700 | $9,000 | $16,200 | 27 | 30 | 29% | -25% | 9% |
Ollie Schniederjans | $8,600 | $7,400 | $14,900 | 107 | 57 | -67% | -39% | 4% |
Adam Scott | $8,500 | $9,800 | $16,400 | 25 | 30 | 38% | -233% | 0% |
J.B. Holmes | $8,400 | $8,300 | $15,000 | 59 | 54 | -41% | -100% | 0% |
Gary Woodland | $8,300 | $7,900 | $15,800 | 49 | 40 | 17% | -7% | -7% |
Sung Kang | $8,200 | $6,100 | $15,600 | 80 | 45 | -5% | 49% | -25% |
Branden Grace | $8,100 | $8,400 | $15,200 | 46 | 48 | -10% | -100% | 0% |
Byeong-Hun An | $8,100 | $7,500 | $15,400 | 79 | 45 | 0% | -18% | 5% |
Kevin Na | $8,000 | $6,800 | $15,500 | 72 | 44 | 18% | 31% | 10% |
Chez Reavie | $7,900 | $7,300 | $15,200 | 97 | 49 | 0% | -10% | -5% |
Lucas Glover | $7,800 | $6,400 | $15,000 | 85 | 58 | -8% | 19% | -8% |
Grayson Murray | $7,800 | $6,300 | $13,500 | 95 | 96 | -67% | -14% | 0% |
Brian Harman | $7,700 | $7,200 | $13,500 | 32 | 93 | -50% | -77% | 3% |
Charl Schwartzel | $7,600 | $7,700 | $15,600 | 31 | 44 | 30% | -19% | -19% |
Luke List | $7,600 | $5,500 | $14,500 | 138 | 67 | -15% | 34% | 0% |
Thomas Pieters | $7,600 | $7,800 | $15,600 | 34 | 43 | 37% | -13% | -6% |
Graham DeLaet | $7,500 | $6,400 | $14,500 | 103 | 71 | -7% | 0% | -3% |
Ian Poulter | $7,500 | $6,600 | $14,900 | 54 | 59 | 10% | 0% | -4% |
Jamie Lovemark | $7,500 | $7,200 | $14,100 | 86 | 83 | -17% | -59% | -3% |
Jhonattan Vegas | $7,500 | $5,500 | $13,200 | 38 | 117 | -67% | -6% | -2% |
Chris Kirk | $7,500 | $5,500 | $13,500 | 163 | 103 | -50% | 4% | -13% |
Stewart Cink | $7,400 | $6,200 | $13,900 | 137 | 88 | -9% | -6% | 0% |
Bud Cauley | $7,400 | $6,500 | $14,700 | 105 | 61 | 20% | 0% | 0% |
Danny Lee | $7,400 | $5,900 | $14,700 | 90 | 66 | 14% | 29% | -7% |
Nick Taylor | $7,400 | $5,300 | $13,500 | 186 | 97 | -17% | 21% | -3% |
Si Woo Kim | $7,400 | $6,500 | $13,300 | 41 | 113 | -40% | -75% | -4% |
Hudson Swafford | $7,300 | $5,300 | $13,200 | 82 | 112 | -20% | 8% | 2% |
Emiliano Grillo | $7,300 | $6,500 | $14,300 | 60 | 72 | 18% | -18% | 0% |
Morgan Hoffmann | $7,300 | $5,300 | $12,700 | 171 | 144 | -45% | -12% | 0% |
K.J. Choi | $7,300 | $4,900 | $13,700 | 433 | 99 | -5% | 32% | -8% |
Kyung-tae Kim | $7,300 | $4,800 | $12,800 | 126 | 146 | -48% | 6% | -9% |
Ryan Ruffels | $7,300 | $4,700 | $11,900 | 498 | 267 | -73% | -6% | -6% |
Kyle Stanley | $7,200 | $7,000 | $14,700 | 53 | 66 | 37% | -21% | -4% |
Harold Varner | $7,200 | $5,800 | $14,000 | 142 | 86 | 20% | 16% | -3% |
Patrick Rodgers | $7,200 | $5,500 | $13,500 | 152 | 101 | 7% | 9% | -8% |
Whee Kim | $7,200 | $5,000 | $12,800 | 205 | 140 | -17% | 11% | 0% |
Chris Stroud | $7,200 | $4,500 | $11,600 | 167 | 279 | -54% | 0% | -3% |
Gavin Green | $7,200 | $4,500 | $12,600 | 162 | 173 | -35% | 13% | -2% |
Rod Pampling | $7,200 | $4,500 | $11,000 | 218 | 363 | -59% | -3% | 3% |
James Hahn | $7,100 | $5,900 | $14,100 | 69 | 81 | 36% | 19% | 0% |
Seung-Yul Noh | $7,100 | $6,000 | $13,200 | 242 | 104 | 13% | -12% | 6% |
Cheng-Tsung Pan | $7,100 | $5,100 | $13,000 | 155 | 133 | 0% | 9% | -2% |
Chad Campbell | $7,100 | $5,600 | $12,200 | 196 | 181 | -19% | -37% | 2% |
Charles Howell | $7,100 | $6,200 | $12,800 | 68 | 140 | -2% | -50% | 0% |
Camilo Villegas | $7,100 | $5,100 | $12,800 | 336 | 143 | -8% | 2% | -6% |
Junghwan Lee | $7,100 | $4,500 | $10,700 | 386 | 717 | -47% | -10% | 0% |
Adam Hadwin | $7,000 | $7,400 | $14,000 | 50 | 85 | 40% | -100% | 0% |
Kevin Tway | $7,000 | $5,300 | $12,700 | 180 | 140 | 7% | -8% | 3% |
Jeunghun Wang | $7,000 | $5,200 | $13,500 | 87 | 102 | 27% | 21% | -10% |
Wesley Bryan | $7,000 | $5,200 | $12,700 | 55 | 148 | 0% | -7% | -3% |
Jung-gon Hwang | $7,000 | $4,600 | $11,400 | 342 | -20% | -6% | 0% | |
Kyoung-Hoon Lee | $7,000 | $4,700 | $11,600 | 267 | -15% | -6% | 0% | |
Graeme McDowell | $6,900 | $6,400 | $13,400 | 151 | 109 | 29% | -47% | -2% |
Scott Brown | $6,900 | $6,100 | $13,000 | 125 | 125 | 21% | -33% | 0% |
Younghan Song | $6,900 | $5,100 | $13,300 | 116 | 120 | 23% | 12% | -9% |
Sang-Moon Bae | $6,900 | $5,700 | $12,500 | 160 | 8% | -36% | 2% | |
Jim Herman | $6,900 | $4,500 | $11,800 | 122 | 256 | -2% | 6% | -2% |
Kelly Kraft | $6,900 | $4,700 | $11,700 | 189 | 252 | 0% | -2% | 3% |
Cody Gribble | $6,900 | $4,800 | $11,800 | 269 | 258 | -3% | -8% | -3% |
Robert Streb | $6,800 | $5,400 | $12,300 | 131 | 188 | 12% | -25% | -2% |
Jonas Blixt | $6,800 | $4,600 | $11,600 | 395 | 250 | 11% | 4% | 6% |
Jinho Choi | $6,800 | $4,500 | $11,300 | 219 | 370 | -1% | -4% | -1% |
Seunghyuk Kim | $6,800 | $4,500 | $11,000 | 241 | 433 | -3% | -6% | 0% |
Hyungjoon Lee | $6,800 | $4,600 | $10,900 | 233 | 467 | -4% | -12% | 1% |
Gyu Min Lee | $6,800 | $4,500 | $11,100 | 500 | -5% | -8% | -4% |
Legend
Term | Description |
---|---|
Site Odds | The percentage differential between a golfer’s salary rank and odds rank. The higher the %, the better. |
OWGR | Official World Golf Ranking |