2020 PGA Tour Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship Matchup Odds and Picks
- The PGA Tour heads south to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for the third ever Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship from Sept 24-27
- Adam Long, Pat Perez, and Thomas Detry are our favorite matchup plays this week at the Corales Golf Club
- Read below to find out the best matchup plays for the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship
The third official tournament of the 2020-21 PGA Tour season gets underway this week in the Dominican Republic. Players will head to Corales Golf Club at the Puntacana Resort for the Corales Championship. The Corales Golf Club is a long 7,668 yard Par 72, however, it has been the location for an abundance of birdies in the past.
Corey Conners and Will Zalatoris are the favorites at +1400 in a relatively weak field heading into this week’s sunny affair in the Carribean.
Not my most memorable tournament picks last week as Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood both missed the cut on a golf course that should have seemed relatively familiar. However, it is a new week and the last time I made picks in a very similar field they were spot on.
Let’s take a look at my three favorite matchup plays for this week at the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
Adam Long vs Mackenzie Hughes Matchup Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Adam Long | -110 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | -110 |
All Odds Taken Sept. 23rd at DraftKings
Keeping it Long & Consistent
One player who has been under the radar since the resumption of the PGA Tour in June is Adam Long. The 32-year-old has jumped 50 spots in the OWGR since the beginning of June.
Not to mention, Long had an impressive week at Winged Foot. Long finished seven-over par at last week’s U.S. Open going on to place tied-13th.
Adam Long for birdie and the win at the Desert Classic… BANG 🏆pic.twitter.com/2APAjPw6AL
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) January 20, 2019
Long won his first PGA Tour event at the 2019 Desert Classic with a total score of 26-under par. Brice Garnett (2018) and Graeme McDowell (2019), the past winners of the Corales Championship, won at 18-under par.
This course sets up well for Long’s game as he is able to make a lot of birdies when there are four Par 5s on the scorecard.
He’s made six consecutive cuts and finished second at the 3M Championship back in July. Over the last eight weeks on Tour, Long sits Top 15 in Strokes Gained: Approach, SG: Around the Green, SG: Putting, and SG: Total.
His competitor this week is Mackenzie Hughes who has also played some solid golf recently. The Canadian had a good showing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs but did miss the cut at Winged Foot last week. Although this is quite an even matchup, I believe Long has the upper edge because of his ability to drive the golf ball.
Pick: Adam Long (-110)
Pat Perez vs Denny McCarthy Matchup Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Pat Perez | -110 |
| Denny McCarthy | -110 |
Perez’s Record in Autumn
Pat Perez has one of the more relaxed lifestyles amongst PGA Tour professionals. That being said, Punta Cana is a setting that Perez could do very well at.
Perez played some great golf at the 2020 Safeway Open just two weeks ago. The 44-year old opened with a 65 and followed that up with three consecutive rounds of 69 to finished tied-ninth for the week.
Pat Perez gets it to -9.
He's T3 at the @SafewayOpen. pic.twitter.com/PljoiNjf6j
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 11, 2020
Perez has played particularly well in October and November in his career. He finished first at the 2016 OHL Classic in November, first at the 2017 CIMB Classic in October, third at the 2019 Shriners Open in October, and eighth at the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic in November.
We know Perez is a great ball striker, but his putting is what has been surprisingly good recently. Perez finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting at the Safeway Open and has always rolled the ball well on Paspalum surfaces.
The Arizona State product is up against Denny McCarthy this week at the Corales Golf Club. The young American missed the cut at the Safeway Open but did play some solid golf at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Perez has more experience with these golf courses and has always fared well in tournaments where the scores are lower.
Pick: Pat Perez (-110)
Thomas Detry vs Matthias Schwab Matchup Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Thomas Detry | -110 |
| Matthias Schwab | -110 |
The All-European Matchup
Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Austria’s Matthias Schwab are matched up against each other this week in the Dominican Republic. Both are great young talents with very hopeful futures.
Detry finished tied-49th at the U.S. Open last week with disappointing rounds on Saturday and Sunday. After opening rounds of 71 and 72, Detry finished with a 73 and 81.
Schwab did not have his best showing shooting back-to-back 77’s on Thursday and Friday to miss the cut.
🇿🇦 Christiaan Bezuidenhout
🇧🇪 Thomas Detry
🇫🇷 Romain Langasque
🏴 Robert MacIntyreAll make the cut on their US Open debuts. 👏#USOpen pic.twitter.com/leKgvQ1UNz
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 18, 2020
Detry has played quite well on the European Tour this season. The Uccle, Belgium native finished second at the Celtic Classic and second at the Hero Open in August. In both of those tournaments, Detry surpassed 15-under par for the tournament.
Amongst the field this week, Detry sits very high in Strokes Gained: Putting and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Moreover, Detry hits a lot of greens in regulation, which bodes well for him as it will be a birdie fest out there at the Corales Golf Club.
Schwab has played more tournaments than Detry on the PGA Tour, however, Detry is playing much better golf right now. Look for Detry to have some confidence after a few solid rounds at Winged Foot.
Pick: Thomas Detry (-110)
With 5+ years of sports journalism under his belt, Ryan Sura may be young, but he's already making his mark. Ryan is the lead NHL editor at SBD, along with managing content for MMA, Boxing, and Racing. He is also the commercial manager, highlighting the best promos at online sportsbooks across US.
