CJ Cup at Nine Bridges: PGA Tour Odds and Prediction
CJ Cup at Nine Bridges Background
This is one of the newest tournaments on the PGA Tour, debuting in October 2017. It’s also Korea’s first-ever PGA event and is played at the Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island. It’s a par 72 measuring about 7,200 yards and is ranked among the world’s Top 100 courses. Actually, there are only eight bridges on the course, but it’s called Nine Bridges as a metaphorical link from the club to its guests. OK then.
There won’t be another PGA Tour event in the United States until Nov. 21 in Georgia. Next week, the Tour heads to Japan, then to China and, after a week break, to Mexico. The CJ Cup is a limited-field event (78) so there’s no cut, and there will be a handful of spots available to players from the Korean Tour and Asian Tour.
The fields at this tournament have gotten better each year, with the likes of defending champion Brooks Koepka, inaugural winner Justin Thomas and first-timers Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia in the 2019 field. A total of four nine major title holders and four FedEx Cup champions will play this year. It has a bigger purse than a typical Tour event to try and lure guys overseas.
CJ Cup at Nine Bridges Betting Favourites
Koepka is No. 1 in the world but he’s the +800 second-favourite behind Thomas (+650), who holds both the 18-hole (63) and 72-hole records (279) in this tournament when he won two years ago in a playoff over Marc Leishman. Thomas was 36th last year. Koepka’s debut here was last year when he won at 21-under 267 by four over Gary Woodland (+2800).
Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood are each +1800. Matsuyama was 18th last year and Fleetwood is making his debut. Viktor Hovland is +2000 with Collin Morikawa +2200. Spieth is also +2200 with Sungjae Im. Only Im has played here previously and was 41st last year.
Canadian Golfer Odds
No golfer from Canada has won this tournament or finished runner-up. Adam Hadwin finished T10 last year following a final-round 64, jumping up 21 spots. No other Canadian player was in the 2018 field. Nick Taylor was T23 the year before and Hadwin T47.
Corey Conners is +6000 to win in his tournament debut. He was T13 last time out in California.
CJ Cup at Nine Bridges Predictions
Take Thomas for a Top 10, but the winner at +6000 is Pat Perez. He has been seventh and fifth in Korea.