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Power Rankings: Corales Puntacana Championship

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Power Rankings

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 13: Sahith Theegala of the United States waves on the 16th green during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 13, 2022 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 13: Sahith Theegala of the United States waves on the 16th green during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 13, 2022 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)



    The impact of the additional events on the PGA TOUR can change the trajectory of careers and even lives. You needn’t go back in time any further than three weeks ago for evidence.

    In what was poised to be his last PGA TOUR start of the season, if not indeterminably, Ryan Brehm captured victory at the Puerto Rico Open. Just to retain fully exempt status in what was his last start on a Minor Medical Extension, he needed to prevail. The six-stroke margin of victory equated to style points in concert with the substance of 300 FedExCup points. Now he’s fully exempt through the 2023-24 season and has membership for as long as he wants.

    The same opportunity is back on the table at this week’s opposite event of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. A field of 120 is assembled for the Corales Puntacana Championship at Punta Cana Resort & Club’s Corales Course for what is already the fifth edition of the tournament in the Dominican Republic. Scroll past the projected contenders and others to consider for analysis of the host course, a pair of key commonalities among the winners and more.


    RELATED:Inside the field | Expert Picks


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    OTHERS TO CONSIDER

    Brice Garnett … The inaugural champion in 2018 hasn’t missed a cut in all four editions. He added a T9 last year and his scoring average in 16 rounds is 69.81. Currently riding a modest consecutive cuts-made streak of three that was sparked by a T7 on the paspalum in Puerto Rico where he’s also played well regularly.

    Mark Hubbard … The tournament debutant made noise in the second round of The Honda Classic with a field-low-tying 64 before retreating for a 15th-place finish. So, while he’s struggled in putting four rounds together on the PGA TOUR, he’s connected five paydays when factoring in a pair of top finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, including a T5 last week in Louisiana.

    Thomas Detry … The Belgian presents as strong as he did in 2021 but now with another year of experience. Added a T13 to two T33s at Corales. He’s also 6-for-7 worldwide in 2022 with a top 10.

    Kelly Kraft … He didn’t generate the kind of attention that Wesley Bryan received at the Valspar Championship, but Kraft also exhausted a medical extension when he missed the cut at Copperhead. However, his safety net is that he remains fully exempt as a Korn Ferry Tour Finals graduate. In four trips to Corales, he’s finished third (2018), T5 (2019) and T14 (2020).

    Draws and Fades will include reviews of the Højgaard twins, Victor Perez, Haotong Li and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

    Like the 35-year-old Brehm at the Puerto Rico Open, all of the champions at Corales have been in their 30s, two were first-time winners and none have been rookies. Each had finished 160th or worse in the FedExCup in a recent season. Some fans might not understand that victory in an opposite event is like scaling a summit, but all of the winners at Corales understand the climb on the PGA TOUR.

    In addition to their veteran presence amid a slew of starry-eyed hopefuls, each of the first four winners at Corales putt the lights out en route to their respective triumphs.

    Dahmen’s breakthrough performance as a 33-year-old a year ago was set up by averaging 12.25 greens in regulation per round. That ranked T10, but he paid it off by finishing third in converting those chances into par breakers, second in putts per GIR and second in one-putt percentage. He also finished fourth in scrambling amid the gusty conditions along the eastern shore of the island.

    Last year’s scoring average of 72.484 was the tournament high in the brief history on the stock par 72. Only the final round (71.986) beat par. Dahmen’s 12-under 276 marked the first time that the winner didn’t post 18-under 270.

    The entirety of Corales is equipped with Supreme paspalum. Primary rough is down one-quarter of an inch to just an inch and three-quarters, but the greens could roll up to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, so they’d be a little slicker than in previous editions, otherwise the layout is the same.

    The closing par-4-3-4 stretch on the 7,670-yard hike is known at The Devil’s Elbow. Collectively, it averaged 0.658 strokes over par in 2021. The finishing hole was the hardest on the course all week. So, just like last week’s narrative for The Snake Pit, the winner at Corales likely will retain position or rise into it as an opponent struggles closing the door. Dahmen played the finishing trio in bogey-free 2-under for the week, which was crucial because he played the final 11 holes of the tournament in birdie-free 2-over to win by one.

    Predictable conditions are forecast throughout this week. Prevailing winds from the east-southeast will flirt with and likely exceed 20 mph. There’s a small chance of passing showers at times, but delays are not expected. Daytime highs will reach the low to mid-80s.


    ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE


    PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

    MONDAY: Power Rankings (Match Play)

    TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Corales), Draws and Fades

    SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking

    * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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