2024 Puerto Rico Open Picks & Betting Preview
The first alternate field event of the 2024 PGA Tour season is here as we head to Grand Reserve Golf Club for the 2024 Puerto Rico Open. There are four alternate field events in 2024. These events are played opposite some of the Tour's limited field, bigger purse events as they allow some of the players who are not qualified for the Signature Events to earn FedEx Cup points, which are hard to come by this year.
Grand Reserve Golf Club will play as a 7,500-yard, par-72 course. Although that sounds long, there is little penalty off the tee, so the golfers can bomb it where ever they want. From there, these greens are rather soft, and conditions are favorable for scoring. This should lead to plenty of birdies as the winning score of this event will likely be -20 or below this week. Let's take a look at some key stats and some picks to win outright.
Key Puerto Rico Open Metrics
Driving Distance
Year after year, some of the longer players in this field find there way to the top of the leaderboard. With the penalty being so minimal for missed fairways, golfers can hit driver all they want to have less club into greens. Below are the longest drivers in this field over the last 36 rounds.
- Taiga Semikawa
- Kevin Dougherty
- Chris Gotterup
- Cam Champ
- Sam Stevens
Birdie or Better Percentage
With the conditions so easy and the winning score expected to be low, golfers need to keep their feet on the gas for 72 holes. Below are the golfers with the best Birdie or Better Percentage over the last 36 rounds.
- Kevin Dougherty
- Chan Kim
- Camilo Villegas
- Michael Kim
- Ryo Hisatsune
2024 Puerto Rico Open Picks
Ryo Hisatsune +2500
Ryo Hisatsune is a future stud and will be in the elevated events this time next year. The 21-year-old from Japan is a fearless ball-striker with all the talent in the world. He is not one of the longest drivers in this field but is one of the better iron players.
He has won on the DP World Tour at the Cazoo Open de France last September and has already showed flashes of brilliance on The PGA Tour in 2024. Per Datagolf, Hisatsune gained more strokes on approach per round (1.71) in his most recent start last week at the Cognizant Classic than at any other tracked event with Shotlink data in his career. However, he struggled mightily with his putter, which caused him to miss the cut.
We might be getting a discount on him this week because of those putting woes at PGA National, so hop on the Ryo train while you can!
Brandon Wu +3500
Brandon Wu has played his best golf at resort courses like this. He has tied for third and seventh in two trips to Puerto Rico and tied for 13th, third and second in three trips to the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
He recently showed some great signs in the ball-striking categories as he has gained strokes to the field on approach in four of six starts this year. Wu is a great Bermuda putter and one of the more talented golfers in this field. He is another young talent whom I can see in the elevated events at this time next year, so let's stay ahead of the curve and buy Brandon Wu while we can.
Justin Suh +4500
I will continue to buy the talent of Justin Suh in both strong fields and weak fields. Suh is a former top amateur in the world and has shown flashes of brilliance. He brings great driving distance and is one of the better putters in the field.
His issue has been iron play, but he has shown flashes of iron gains in 2024. He has gained strokes to the field on approach in three of six starts in 2024, which is a much higher rate than he has in the past. Suh has the talent to compete with anyone on Tour but is yet to put it together for four rounds. +4500 is way too long for a golfer who has contended in much tougher fields than this.
Michael Kim +5000
Kim is coming off three straight missed cuts but has shown a newfound confidence in 2024. He does not check every box off the tee, but he has shown elite iron prowess with great birdie-making skill. His last two trips to Grand Reserve Golf Club have resulted in a T5 and a T16.
Kim does his best work in relatively easy scoring conditions, and that should be a recipe for success this week. +5000 is great number on a golfer who has been in contention in a tougher field already this year at The American Express when he tied for sixth.
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