Corales Puntacana Championship Betting: Favorites and Longshots to Win

We’re currently in the midst of a two-week window into what the PGA Tour’s future “Championship” and “Challenger” might entail and if the first event of this fortnight is any indication, the duality could benefit all types of consumers.

Now, let’s start with this caveat: I’m not naïve enough to believe that starting in 2027, every week will feature one tournament which ends at 3 p.m. ET and another which concludes five hours later after a three-hole playoff. The early end to the Genesis Scottish Open giving way to some late drama at the ISCO Championship was a somewhat perfect storm that won’t take place more than it will.

There was, though, a lesson to be learned.

Staggered end times would do a world of good for the second-tier events, even if they have to adjust to meet the needs of the first-worlders. And personally, I wouldn’t hate it if some of these tourneys have a driveable par-4 and some getable pins on the closing stretch of holes. You can’t create drama, but you can at least move the odds in your favor.

In any case, we’ll be treated to a similar schedule this week, with The Open Championship finishing well before the alternate-field Corales Puntacana Championship.

(One note: We’re a decade into this event and the grammar nerd in me is still trying to figure out why it’s played at Puntacana Resort in a town called Punta Cana.)

There are weak opposite events and then there’s this one, with a bunch of players at the top of the board who might not have the lowest odds in the parimutuel at their own member-guest. Last week’s playoff loser, Taylor Pendrith (+2200), is the favorite, followed by Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+2500). As noted golf bettor Dr. Seuss might’ve said, “I do not like these players so short, I do not like them in this sport.”

Instead, I’ll start my card with Stephan Jaeger (+3500), who was tied for third after 54 holes at the ISCO, only to post a final-round 72 – the worst Sunday score of anyone in the eventual top-30 — and finish T-15. That won’t exactly instill him, or me, with much confidence, but I think his game has fewer holes than most others in this tier and he’s running hot, with four finishes of 18th or better in his last six starts.

Corales GC is a resort course, which means that even though it’s being played from north of 7,600 yards, it’s wide open, so your 18-handicap vacationers don’t run out of golf balls on the back-nine. Like Jaeger, Taylor Moore (+4000) is a guy who often hits it long and crooked, which shouldn’t be as much of a hindrance here as it is at most other places. He’s a few months removed from a three-event run of top-20s, but he’s got some win equity here.

There aren’t many players in this field who also played last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and there certainly aren’t any who played it better than Kevin Roy (+6600). He might get ignored in the outright market just because of the North Berwick-to-Puntacana culture shock, but he was T-11 in that one and should bring a ton of confidence back with him.

Just a few years ago, Luke Clanton (+6600) would’ve been the favorite in a field like this as an amateur, so this price feels like a massive bargain if you can ignore the whole thing about, you know, him not playing very well since then. He actually had a cut streak going of seven in a row before missing the last two, which isn’t much, but at least gives us some hope.

I like the idea of big hitters who play aggressively at this one and Alejandro Tosti (+6600) checks both of those boxes. He’s wildly volatile – in a few different ways – but if he can muster up his best stuff, it’ll be better than most in this type of field, as evidenced by his co-runner-up finish last year.

Brice Garnett (+6600) won this event in 2018 and has since posted a pair of top-10s, which is about as much history as anyone has here. The man I like to call Big Ticket – you know, just like his cousin Kevin – was T-4 at the RBC Canadian Open just a month ago.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head, cartoon-style, when I saw the price for Aaron Wise (+8000), who was in the thick of contention throughout last weekend. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen much from him, but I’ve seen enough to know that he can win in a field such as this and I absolutely love these odds – perhaps as much as I’ve loved any player’s pre-tourney odds all season.

It gets windy in Puntacana, so if you’re looking for a couple of sturdy dudes who won’t get swept away, Thriston Lawrence (+6600) and Harry Higgs (+9000) each fit the bill, though the latter is my preference of the two, especially at these prices.

This one usually doesn’t turn into a putting contest, but just in case it does, you might want a little Taylor Montgomery (+15000), who’s always been great with the flatstick.

Davis Riley (+15000) is a two-time PGA Tour winner down in the depths of the odds board where almost nobody is a two-time winner.

Let’s not forget the obligatory Danny Walker (+25000) play, as I somehow haven’t lost faith yet, even after he dropped 18 spots on the leaderboard Sunday at the ISCO, finishing T-39.

Last one: Charley Hoffman (+30000) will be rooting for the breeze to blow, as he’s always been a very good wind player. At a big number, he gives me some Joel Dahmen vibes, referencing a guy who’s gotten a win and a runner-up here in recent years.