The CJ CUP was originally held in South Korea, but due to the pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions, it was moved to the US in 2021 – where it remains once again this year.
So we end up with a field that is heavily biased towards the regular PGA Tour, with a few players from Asia and Europe added to the line-up giving it a more cosmopolitan feel than a regular US tournament at this time of year.
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The CJ Cup: The Tournament
Not a great deal to report in terms of history as this event is being played for just the fifth time. As a co-sanctioned PGA/Asian Tour event there’s usually a good mix of players, but with this year’s continued re-location within the borders of the US, all this is pretty much thrown out of the window. Yes, there’s still a smattering of talent from the Far East (the Asian and Japan Tours, plus South Africa and Australasia), but otherwise this resembles a small-field PGA Tour event. Albeit a damn good one!
Prizemoney $10.5m ($1.755m to the winner)
Field 78
Highest ranked players: Scheffler (1), McIlroy (2), Rahm (5), Thomas (8), Morikawa (9), Fitzpatrick (10).
2021 result
-25 Rory McIlroy ($21)
-24 Colin Morikawa ($17)
-22 Rickie Fowler ($126)
-22 Keith Mitchell ($251)
-21 Sam Burns ($29)
-21 Talor Gooch ($67)
-21 Adam Scott ($61)
-21 Aaron Wise ($61)
Other recent winners
Jason Kokrak (2020)
Justin Thomas (2019)
Brooks Koepka (2018)
Justin Thomas (2017)
The CJ Cup: The Course
This week we’re at Congaree Golf Club, situated some 60 miles south-west of the city of Charleston in South Carolina. It’s a par 71 that’s laid out over a long 7,655 yards. It was designed in 2017 by Tom Fazio, and first featured on the PGA Tour in 2021 when it hosted the Palmetto Championship, won by South Africa’s Garrick Higgo. The course features very little rough, but there are water hazards on 10 holes, and plenty of sand-traps as well. Length off the tee is viewed as a possible advantage, though not an absolute necessity.
72-Hole Record 263: Rory McIlroy (2021).
18-Hole Record 64: Wes Roach (2021), Ryan Armour (2021) & Will Gordon (2021).
The Weather
A dry week is expected with a daily precipitation forecast of 0%-0%-0%-0% over the course of the tournament. Temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 70s, with some light cloud cover on the weekend. Wind speeds will be light, reaching a maximum of just 6-8mph.
Value outright picks
These are two each-way outright bets from the Golf Insider. Members receive all of his best bets for all markets – win and each-way, Top 10, Top 20, Round 1 Leader and 3-Ball groups. He covers every tournament on the PGA and European Tours.
Jordan Spieth $23 with TopSport
Spieth was the star-turn at the recent Presidents Cup where he posted a perfect 5-0 record. And as a past winner in South Carolina, and boasting a fine US Masters record (there might well be a tie in with Augusta form this week), I would fancy his game is a good fit for the test that awaits at Congaree. Spieth had a solid run into the FedEx Cup play-offs, and a 13th place at East Lake was rounded off with a fine 65 in R4. My hunch is that this week we might be better served looking away from last week’s Zozo Championship players and, as such, Spieth benefits from some added value in my book.
Jason Day $65 with TopSport
My gut feeling is that on a new course, at this time of year, with some players under-golfed (or over-golfed!), those travelling in from far afield, and with a small field to begin with – we could see a few players go well at decent prices. And Day could be one such example. We know all about the Australian’s pedigree, and even if his last tournament win was in 2018, few would dismiss his chances of winning again. That potential was shown last time out at the Shriners, where he 34-year-old closed out an 8th place finish with a R4 63 and, given the above reasons, there’s a case to be made for Day, and players like him, going well in South Carolina. At 60/1+ he’s worth a small EW interest
The Golf Insider is a GUN. Look at these winners, all since the start of 2020...
Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez $126, Roger Sloan $126, Mark Hubbard $126, Tom Hoge $101, Pablo Larrazabal $91, Jeff Winther $91, Nino Bertasio $81, Sam Burns $67, Jhonattan Vegas $67, Lucas Herbert $67, Haotong Li $67, Joaquin Niemann $58, Brian Stuard $51, Ted Potter Jr $51, Russell Henley $51, Victor Perez $51, Harold Varner $51, JT Poston $51, John Catlin $46, Pablo Larrazabal $46, Max Homa $41, Talor Gooch $41.
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