First Rounder Leader Odds and Picks 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

• The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship tees off Thursday, September 24th
• Mackenzie Hughes and Will Zalatoris are favored to be the first round leader
• See the best bets and odds to grab the first round lead in the article below 

Just one week after Bryson DeChambeau’s thrilling US Open triumph, the PGA Tour heads to the Dominican Republic for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Unlike the US Open which boasted an incredible field, just one of the top-50 players in the world are competing in this one – Henrik Stenson.

Fresh off his T-6th result at the US Open, Korn Ferry Tour leading money winner Will Zalatoris finds himself as the betting co-favorite to win outright this week alongside Corey Conners.

In this article, we’ll explore which players have the best chance of being the leader after day one for this event that’s been contested for the last four years between the PGA and Korn Ferry Tour’s.

2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship First Round Leader Odds

Odds taken September 23rd at FanDuel

The forecast is a risk of a thunderstorm throughout the morning with little winds early on, but they’ll pick up throughout the day as it gets to feel 100 degrees fahrenheit.

A benefit for those playing in the morning is the exact same as it is every week – less bumpy greens with fewer players chewing them up.

Mackenzie Hughes Finished Runner-Up Here Last Year

With the field not having any clear cut favorites to win, it allows for some solid lines in picking a FRL. Mackenzie Hughes was oh-so-close to taking home his second PGA Tour trophy at this very venue last year, losing by a single stroke to Graeme McDowell.

Hughes enters this tournament as the only player in the exclusive 30-man field at the Tour Championship to tee it up this week. He’s posted three top-15 results in his last four events and has had a runner-up and a third place finish in 2020.

https://twitter.com/ForePlayPod/status/1234243379678109696

He’s no stranger to taking advantage of a course in the early going, flirting with a 59 before settling for the first round lead after a 60 at the Travelers Championship. He was sixth in strokes gained around the green and eighth in putting on the campaign as well.

Hughes at times struggles with the driver, but that’s mitigated this week with the super wide fairways at the Corales Golf Club. Even though he’s a co-favorite and usually those odds aren’t that enticing, at +2700 it’s still very palpable.

Pick: Mackenzie Hughes (+2700)

Adam Long Has Been Putting Together Solid Results

Long comes into this event with a high degree of confidence, having finished in a tie for 13th at last week’s US Open. In his last nine events, he’s made eight cuts, finishing runner-up at the 3M Open.

In a field that isn’t laden with star-studded talent, Long has an opportunity to shine, as he’s seventh in total strokes gained in the last 50 rounds among those competing.

His putting has been solid and his approach game has been on point, so him continuing his play is not out of the equation at a course he finished T-8th at in 2017.

Pick: Adam Long (+3400)

Seamus Power a Solid Sleeper

This event has been played four times, twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016 and 2017, and the last two years on the PGA Tour. Seamus Power has played in three of them, and in 2016, finished T-7th on this track. Then in 2018, as a PGA Tour event, he was even better, resulting in a tie for 5th, with six of his eight rounds being in the 60’s.

Over in Detroit, Waterford's Seamus Power is just two shots off the lead in the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic 🇮🇪

— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) July 5, 2020

Four of Power’s last five first rounds have seen him start off hot in the 60’s, where he ranked twelfth in opening round scoring for the 2019-20 season and second best among those teeing it up this week.

Before missing the cut at the Safeway Open, Power had put together two solid performances, with a T-9 at the Barracuda Championship and a T-27 at the Wyndham Championship making him an intriguing sleeper this week.

Pick: Seamus Power (+7500)