BlogPuerto Rico Preview and Picks

Things you need to know about the Puerto Rico Open

This will be the 10th Puerto Rico, the tournament got started in 2008.  This has always been a tournament about second tier players, giving opportunities to those that didn’t qualify for the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship.  This is a perfect way for a bottom-tier player getting himself full status with a win.  Unfortunely the winner gets just about every adelaide that is given to a regular winner with the exception of one important invite, to the Masters.  Augusta won’t extend an invite to the winner in Puerto Rico this week.  Another snub, the new Ryder Cup list won’t include money earned this year.

Course information:

• Coco Beach Golf & C.C – Puerto Rico
• Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
• 7,506 yards     Par 36-36–72
• Don’t let the name fool you, two years ago this course was named Trump International.  But that was in name only, Trump just managed things and when the property went into bankruptcy, so did the Trump name.  Course has a 77.7 rating and slope rating of 135 fron the championship tees. The course is public and also sells local memberships.
• In 2016 Coco Beach had a scoring average of 71.76 and was the 24th hardest course on tour. In 2015 this course was the 13th hardest course on the PGA Tour with a 72.570 average (high average due to high winds all four days).  In 2014 Trump International was the 41st hardest course on the PGA Tour with a 70.788 average and in 2013 the course played to a 70.229 average and was ranked 38th.
• Course is part of a 36 hole complex that was built in 2004 by Tom Kite.  The championship course, which is the lakes and ocean nines are used for the championship. The 18 hole is flat with 13 of the 18 holes having water in play for the professionals.  There are 62 bunkers and the greens are 6,000 square feet, which is average size.  Course has a special grass on it, SeaDwarf Paspaium which is a lot like Bermuda but can tolerate salt and takes a low qualify of water to survive.  The course is very tough for the average player while it’s very manageable for the pros that will play it this week.  Since the course has opened, it’s gotten the reputation as the best course in Puerto Rico.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Puerto Rico Open:

Key stat for the winner:

So what key stats is important at Coco Beach?  Players that hit it long tend to do better, but the course is a bombers paradise.  Because of the high winds that hit the course, hitting greens is tough, last year it was the 31st hardest in greens hit, in 2015 it was the 20th hardest while in 2014 it was the 38th hardest.  In looking at all the stats other that driving distance nothing else stands out.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

• There is no rhyme or reason to winning this event.  Since it’s a second tier event it’s a combination of a PGA Tour and a Web.Com tour stop.  So there are no real favorites because there are no true marquee players that you know of.  One thing of the past winners, done of them achieved great success on the PGA Tour so this is for many just a stepping stone to get full time access to the PGA Tour.
• Since 2013 was the first year that they collected stats, hard to find what type of player wins.  So the key is to look at two things, first past results on this course and how they are playing going into the event.  One thing about the winners the last two years (Alex Cejka and Chesson Hadley) both hit lot’s of greens, last year Cejka was T-3rd in greens in regulation.
• Weather will play a factor this week, it will be warm with temperatures in the low 80s, but rain is in the forecast for all four days.  Winds will be light for the area, with it blowing around 11mph all four days.
• Will a newcomer win this week?  Probably.  It’s more about a player being in the right place at the right time.