Course Guide: Set by the coast, Corales Golf Club plays to a long 7,668 yards and is a Par 72, but with temperatures pushing 30 degrees Celsius each day, the ball travels a mile in these parts. As part of the Puntacana Resort, the course is not the most difficult so expect plenty of attacking play this week, as long as the wind allows. The inland front-9 is where the heavy scoring happens, with the back-9 featuring plenty of coast-lined holes and some longer par-3s, par-4s and par-5s.
Corales Golf Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: Designer: Tom Fazio 2010; Course Type: Mid-Score, Coastal, Long; Par: 72; Length: 7,670 yards; Holes with Water Hazards In-Play: 6; Number of Sand Bunkers: 94; Acres of Fairway: 50; Fairways: Supreme Paspalum; Rough: Supreme Paspalum 1.75-2″; Greens: 6,000 sq.ft average featuring Supreme Paspalum; Tournament Stimp: 11ft.
Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Corales Golf Club and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:
- Corales GC: 75 yards at 300 yards.
- Hurstbourne CC: 25-30 yards at 300 yards
- TPC Deere Run: 36 yards at 300 yards.
- TPC River Highlands: 29 yards at 300 yards.
- Shinnecock Hills: 45 yards at 300 yards.
- TPC Toronto: 35-37 yards at 300 yards.
- Muirfield Village: 24 yards at 300 yards.
- Colonial: 25-30 yards at 300 yards.
- TPC Craig Ranch: 25-28 yards.
- Aronimink: 30 yards.
- Quail Hollow: 28 yards.
- Blue Monster, Doral: 25-40 yards.
- Harbour Town: 22-25 yards.
- Augusta National: Average 50 yards.
- Oaks Course: 25-30 yards.
- Memorial Park: 30–40 yards.
- Copperhead: Average 20 yards.
- TPC Sawgrass: Average 28 yards.
- Bay Hill: Average 30 yards.
- PGA National: Average 28 yards.
- Riviera: Average 27 yards.
- Pebble Beach: Average 30-33 yards. Spyglass Hill: 25-30 yards.
- TPC Scottsdale: Average 38 yards.
- Torrey Pines South: Average 24-27 yards. Torrey Pines North: Average 24-27 yards.
- Pete Dye Stadium: Average 33 yards.
Course Scoring Average + PGA Tour Difficulty Rank:
- 2025: 71.18 (-0.82), Rank 23 of 50 courses
- 2024: 70.46 (-1.64), Rank 35 of 51 courses
- 2023: 71.32 (-0.68), Rank 27 of 49 courses
- 2022: 71.23 (-0.77), Rank 25 of 50 courses
- 2021: 72.48 (+0.48), Rank 14 of 51 courses
- 2020: 71.12 (-0.88), Rank 30 of 51 courses
- 2019: 71.07 (-0.93), Rank 30 of 49 courses
Course Overview: The Corales course opened in 2010 and is a Tom Fazio design. A little like El Camaleon which used to host the Mayakoba Golf Classic in the autumn, the Corales is split between inland and coastal sections. Away from the shore, the course features a number of water hazards and fairways marked with coconut trees, but in the main the inland section is more than scoreable.
6 holes play along the coast, including the home stretch across holes 16 to 18, known as the Devil’s Elbow. From a grass perspective, this week we are dealing with Paspalum greens, so for PGA Tour stop-offs think again about El Camaleon host of the Mayakoba Classic, Grand Reserve Country Club host of the Puerto Rico Open, the Norman Signature Course at Vidanta host of the Mexico Open, and El Cardonal at Diamante host of the WWT Championship.
As part of the Corales Puntacana Resort complex, the course is clearly designed around the needs of amateur golfers, so this isn’t intrinsically a hard test. The outbound set of 9 holes is where some serious scoring is essential. With the longest par-4 measuring 465 yards and 2 par-5s which only measure 563 yards (4th) and 515 yards (7th), the front side of the golf course is there for the taking.
The inward-9 is more stringent with both par-5s playing over 600 yards and the closing Devil’s Elbow putting up far sterner resistance. Every year it plays over par across the field.
As with all coastal golf, winning scores tend to be dictated by wind. Take 2021 where winds gusting to 22mph on Thursday and 26mph across the closing 54 holes saw Joel Dahmen took the title at -12/276. Slightly less wind and tee positions have led to lower scoring with 2024 at -23/265.
The par-3, par-4, par-5 splits over the 8 renewals held here have been:-
- Garnett -4 -4 -10
- McDowell -2 -6 -10
- Swafford -2 -4 -12
- Dahmen +1, -3, -10
- Ramey -2, -3, -12
- Wallace E, -7, -12
- Horschel -3 -7 -13
- Higgo -1 -4 -9
Undoubtedly the 16 looks at the longest holes tends to be the key here.
Corales Championship Winners: 2024: Billy Horschel (-23); 2023: Matt Wallace (-19); 2022: Chad Ramey (-17); 2021: Joel Dahmen (-12); 2020: Hudson Swafford (-18); 2019: Graeme McDowell (-18); 2018: Brice Garnett (-18).
- 2025: Garrick Higgo 64-68-70-72 -14/274
- 2024: Billy Horschel 67-69-66-63 -23/265
- 2023: Matt Wallace 67-66-70-66 -19/269
- 2022: Chad Ramey 70-65-69-67 -17/271
- 2021: Joel Dahmen 67-71-68-70 -12/276
- 2020: Hudson Swafford 65-67-69-69 -18/270
- 2019: Graeme McDowell 73-64-64-69 -18/270
- 2018: Brice Garnett 63-68-69-70 -18/270
OWGR of Corales Championship Winners: 2025: Higgo 262; 2024: Horschel 84; 2023: Wallace 175; 2022: Ramey 203; 2021: Dahmen 79; 2020: Swafford 341; 2019: McDowell 257; 2018: Garnett 214.
Datagolf Ranking Corales Championship Winners: 2025: Higgo 209; 2024: Horschel 59; 2023: Wallace 143; 2022: Ramey 173; 2021: Dahmen 121.
Cut Line: 2025: -3; 2024: -4; 2023: E; 2022: -1; 2021: +3; 2020: -3; 2019: -2; 2018: -1.
Lead Score Progression:
- 2025: Round 1 -10; Round 2 -16; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -14.
- 2024: Round 1 -9; Round 2 -15; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -23.
- 2023: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -11; Round 3 -14; Round 4 -19.
- 2022: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -12; Round 3 -14; Round 4 -17.
- 2021: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -7; Round 3 -10; Round 4 -12.
- 2020: Round 1 -7; Round 2 -12; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -18.
- 2019: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -10; Round 3 -15; Round 4 -18.
- 2018: Round 1 -9; Round 2 -13; Round 3 -16; Round 4 -18.
Path to Victory: Below are end of round positions for the winners of the Corales Championship since 2018:
- 2025 – Garrick Higgo: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2024 – Billy Horschel: Round 1: 7th, Round 2: 12th, Round 3: 5th.
- 2023 – Matt Wallace: Round 1: 3rd, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 3rd.
- 2022 – Chad Ramey: Round 1:15th, Round 2: 3rd, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2021 – Joel Dahmen: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 4th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2020 – Hudson Swafford: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2019 – Graeme McDowell: Round 1: 81st, Round 2: 7th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2018 – Brice Garnett: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
Shots From the Lead: Below are the Corales Championship winners and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
- 2025 – Garrick Higgo: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 4 back, Round 3: 3 back.
- 2024 – Billy Horschel: Round 1: 4 back, Round 2: 7 back, Round 3: 3 back.
- 2023 – Matt Wallace: Round 1: 1 back, Round 2: 1 ahead, Round 3: 1 back.
- 2022 – Chad Ramey: Round 1: 4 back, Round 2: 3 back, Round 3: 2 back.
- 2021 – Joel Dahmen: Round 1: 1 back, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: level.
- 2020 – Hudson Swafford: Round 1: level, Round 2: 2 ahead, Round 3: 2 back.
- 2019 – Graeme McDowell: Round 1: 7 back, Round 2: 3 back, Round 3: 1 ahead.
- 2018 – Brice Garnett: Round 1: 1 ahead, Round 2: 1 ahead, Round 3: 1 ahead.
Incoming Form of Corales Championship winners since 2018:
- Garrick Higgo: 3rd Club Car/12th Puerto Rico/26th Astara/42nd Farmers.
- Billy Horschel: MC Valspar/7th Houston/12th Valspar/MC Players.
- Matt Wallace: 7th Valspar/MC Players/29th Honda/MC Genesis.
- Chad Ramey: MC Valspar/5th Puerto/MC Honda/28th Suncoast.
- Joel Dahmen: MC Players/MC Arnold Palmer/MC Genesis/60th Pebble.
- Hudson Swafford: 56th Fortinet/MC Lincoln Land/MC 3M Open/MC Workday.
- Graeme McDowell: 46th Valspar/54th Arnold Palmer/ MDF Honda/42nd Puerto Rico.
- Brice Garnett: 31st Valspar/MC Honda/MC Genesis/35th Pebble.
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats.
Corales Championship Winners & Prices: 2025: Higgo 50/1; 2024: Horschel 20/1; 2023: Wallace 25/1; 2022: Ramey 50/1; 2021: Dahmen 50/1; 2020: Swafford 200/1; 2019: McDowell 40/1; 2018: Garnett 66/1. Past 5 Renewals Average: 39/1; Average: 63/1.
Historical Weather:
- 2025: Thursday: Partly cloudy with occasional showers. High of 85. Wind ESE 8-14 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind NE 9-16 mph, gusting to 23 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind NE 14-20 mph, gusting to 30 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind NE 14-20 mph, gusting to 30 mph.
- 2024: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High of 87. Wind NE 10-16 mph, gusting to 22 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 87. Wind NE 8-14 mph, gusting to 24 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 87. Wind NE 14-20 mph, gusting to 26 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 87. Wind NE 10-16 mph, gusting to 26 mph.
- 2023: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High of 83. Wind NE 14-18 mph, gusting to 26 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny. High of 84. Wind ENE 15-20 mph, gusting to 26 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind ENE 15-20 mph, gusting to 26 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind E 12-17 mph, gusting to 25 mph.
- 2022: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind ENE 10-15 mph, gusting to 22 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind E 8-14 mph, gusting to 18 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind SE 6-12 mph, gusting to 15 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind SE 6-12 mph.
- 2021: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind ENE 14-18 mph, gusting to 22 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny. High of 85. Wind ENE 15-25 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind ENE 16-26 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy, showers possible. High of 86. Wind ENE 16-26 mph.
- 2020: Thursday: Partly cloudy, with occasional showers. High of 91. Wind ESE at 6-12 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 91. Wind ENE at 6-12 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 91. Wind ENE at 6-12 mph, gusting to 16 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 91. Wind NE at 8-12 mph, gusting to 16 mph
- 2019: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind SSE 8-14 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. Friday: Cloudy with isolated showers. High of 85. Wind SE 5-10 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind NE 5-10 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind NE 7-14 mph.
- 2018: Thursday: Partly cloudy and humid with a high of 84. Wind ESE 8-14 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy and humid with a high of 84. Wind ESE 8-14 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy with a high of 83. Wind NE wind 15-20. Sunday: Cloudy with scattered showers. High of 82. Wind NE 15-20 mph, with gusts of 25 mph.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of Corales Championship winners since 2018 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this tough Florida golf test:
- 2025, Garrick Higgo (-16). 316 yards (5th), 87.5% fairways (8th), 79.2% greens in regulation (1st), 60.0 % scrambling (48th), 1.75 putts per GIR (33rd).
- 2024, Billy Horschel (-23). NA yards (NA), 87.5% fairways (8th), 70.8% greens in regulation (24th), 76.2 % scrambling (17th), 1.57 putts per GIR (2nd).
- 2023, Matt Wallace (-19). 300 yards (15th), 73.2% fairways (31st), 73.6% greens in regulation (11th), 84.2 % scrambling (4th), 1.68 putts per GIR (12th).
- 2022, Chad Ramey (-17). 290 yards (50th), 78.6% fairways (14th), 66.7% greens in regulation (21st), 75.0 % scrambling (18th), 1.58 putts per GIR (2nd).
- 2021, Joel Dahmen (-12). 306 yards (17th), 69.6% fairways (40th), 68.1% greens in regulation (10th), 78.3 % scrambling (4th), 1.63 putts per GIR (2nd).
- 2020, Hudson Swafford (-18). 303 yards (12th), 78.6% fairways (14th), 70.8% greens in regulation (25th), 71.4 % scrambling (21st), 1.65 putts per GIR (5th).
- 2019, Graeme McDowell (-18). 286 yards (53rd), 73.2% fairways (31st), 72.2% greens in regulation (16th), 60.0 % scrambling (47th), 1.52 putts per GIR (1st).
- 2018, Brice Garnett (-18). 288 yards (51st), 80.4% fairways (20th), 66.7% greens in regulation (24th), 75.0 % scrambling (15th), 1.54 putts per GIR (1st).
Tournament Skill Averages:
- Driving Distance: 29th, Driving Accuracy: 21st, Greens in Regulation: 17th, Scrambling: 22nd, Putting Average 7th.
Let’s take a view from players as to how Corales Golf Club sets up and what skill sets the course favours:
Garrick Higgo (2025): “On the 14th hole, so wind was in off the right, I was trying to lay up with a 3-wood. That’s how long that par 5’s playing. I just kind of heeled it slightly and it just went on the wind. So I’d say probably just not the best time to hit a heel fade, but I was kind of lucky, my lie was fine, I was just standing on some kind of dead tree, or we weren’t sure what it was. Hacked it out, chipped it close. Yeah, it wasn’t the best time to hit a heel fade.
Yeah, I’d say it changed as I got to the first tee because I wasn’t really sure how much it was blowing. It was blowing a lot on the range, but after the tee shot on 1, having 4-iron into that hole after I just hit two gap wedges a couple days before, I kind of, I was hoping to shoot 5 but I was like after that, you know, kind of just on a birdie mission if I can grab a few. It wasn’t really a score.”
Billy Horschel (2024): “The putter worked very nicely today, I made quite a few putts from outside 20 feet, something I don’t think I’ve done a lot of this year. It’s weird, putting on Paspalum I wouldn’t say that that would be a good thing, this grass is tough to make putts.
Yeah, it’s a really good golf course. It’s long, or there’s holes that are long and depending on the wind certain holes play a little bit longer. I guess this is maybe a little bit of an unusual wind for this time of year maybe. I guess talking to some guys, 18 usually plays down off the right so we’ve been playing it in off the right, in off the left for most of the week and it’s still going to be the same way. So 17, 18’s going to be a real challenge this week compared to maybe years past. Yeah, I think it’s a really good golf course. I think the driving’s nothing overly difficult, but I think it requires really solid iron play, especially when you’re playing of winds of 10 to 15, gusting to 20, 25.”
Matt Wallace (2023): “The course was playing pretty tough, you know, with the wind. Wind picked up, stayed pretty consistent in the direction, but we had a great game plan. We’ve been playing well and yeah, it’s nice to get off to a good start.
We had it only playing probably about 12 or 13 at the start. Picked up a little bit towards the end downwind, but into wind it’s a lot more than downwind for me especially with the lofted clubs. So we were playing some of them 25 yards into wind with some lofted clubs.
A little bit of confidence there, finding the middle of the clubface. Those ones into wind, yeah, they were seriously long for that sort of distance getting up to 295 and we’re thinking there’s a 20-, 30-mile an hour wind. Yeah, it’s nice, it’s nice. I’m not trying to overexert myself as well, I’m just trying to hit it as good as I can and they’re coming off nice and hot.
I actually spoke to Luke Donald last week to see if he knew about this golf course and he did and he said it was relatively wide off the tee, it wasn’t his style of golf, which he obviously likes the tight. I was like yeah, it’s kind of similar to myself, I like the really tough golf courses, but actually when I got here I was like maybe it’s a good thing for me at the moment. My driving was really good this week because I probably had that space. So it was a good golf course for me to come to. My iron play was stellar and my putting, my chipping has been awesome. Yeah, it all came together.”
Chad Ramey (2022): “My game? I don’t hit it the longest out here, but I usually keep it out in front of me. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Then if I can get the putter working, usually shoot some scores. I just liked how I putted and wedged the ball today. I didn’t have my best with my driver, still hit a lot of good iron shots, but my putter and wedge definitely bailed me out.”
“The win will make a big difference. I can kind of look at my schedule and kind of pick and choose a little more of where I want to go, whereas the way it’s been my rookie season, I’ve kind of just wherever I get the opportunity to play, I kind of have to go play because I don’t really have much of an option. It will definitely make planning and everything like that a little easier.”
Joel Dahmen (2021): “I played here during the Korn Ferry Tour and I think I played here in 18 maybe. I played okay there as well, so I’ve had good success here. I normally typically am a pretty good ball-striker, and the wind blows so you have to hit your ball solid out here and that’s what I do. Made a couple good par saves, too.
Yeah, those last holes, those are so hard, 16, 17, 18, into the wind, long, tough. I hit 4-iron on 16, 4-iron on 17, 4-iron on 18, but I got it on the green. But I wasn’t even thinking that Rafa could tie me, I was just trying to figure out how to two-putt somehow. He hit a great shot in there and somehow his putt missed, I don’t know how that one missed, but those things happen when you win. I’ve been close a couple times, but the breaks didn’t quite go my way and today they definitely went my way for sure.”
Hudson Swafford (2020): “I came here two years ago and I actually, I missed the cut but I liked the golf course. It really, really sets up good for me. I was kind of not in a good place when I came here last year, struggling with my game. Got to be a great mid to long iron player here with the par 3s and a lot of long par 4s, so I thought the golf course set up great for me. Yeah, I had been playing good. I wasn’t going to miss it.”
Graeme McDowell: “No, I love the golf course. I think the golf course is really, really good. The front nine is kind of shortish and tricky and the back nine is actually very long. Eighteen (Devil’s Elbow) is a beautiful hole. I played it yesterday and it was kind of downwind and you’re able to bite off a lot of the corner. When I was here last year, we had more of the north wind and you had to go way left and play a long second shot in. Made a bunch of birdies and it comes to a halt when you’ve got 5-wood into 10 and 5-wood into 11. Listen, happy with that. That was a bit more like it. But like I say, I was very clean today, hit a lot of nice shots, hit a lot of better iron shots. I feel pretty good on these greens. I’ve got a house in the Bahamas and play a lot on this Paspalum type stuff, so I kind of feel like I practice more on this type of stuff. In a funny way that kind of stands me in good stead here as well.”
Brice Garnett: “Yeah, I think last year I just kind of approached the golf course wrong. Everybody’s kind of in play off the tee box. I kind of got out of my element, out of my game. To me, this is a second-shot golf course. Everybody’s in play off the tee and it comes down to a putting competition. I would say one of my best aspects of my game is probably my tee ball. I wouldn’t say this helps me tremendously, but there’s a lot of tee balls with the wind off the right and that’s what I prefer. Today I was able to hit a lot of fairways and get good looks from there. Well, I think last year I was focused too much on bombing the driver. That’s just not my game. My game is put it in the fairway and try to take advantage from there. So this year my wedges have been great. I’ve played the par 5s great, and I’ve putted good, too. So I’ll just kind of stick more to my game plan and not let the width of the fairways or the length kind of deter me from my game.”
Keith Mitchell: “I played it two years ago and I’ve played enough on Paspalum that I know that when you’re putting on Paspalum, if there’s ever any doubt, it’s usually straighter than you think and usually hit it a little firmer than you think. But no, it was both. The wind, it all depended on where you were when the wind and the rain picked up to determine if it was – your luck on that hole. 15 was the hardest hole and we played it right into the wind.”
First Round Leader Analysis: First round leader(s), their group and winning score since 2010. Full First Round Leader stats are here.
- 2025 – Dahmen PM -10/62 55/1.
- 2024 – Bryan PM -9/63 175/1.
- 2023 – Garnett/Martin AM/PM -6/66 80/1 & 40/1.
- 2022 – Martin AM -6/66 150/1.
- 2021 – Jaeger AM -6/66 66/1.
- 2020 – Harrington/McCumber/Straka/Swafford 1AM/3PM -7/65 110/1, 150/1, 50/1, 110/1.
- 2019 – Dahmen/Dunne/Jones 1AM//2PM -6/66 40/1, 50/1, 45/1.
- 2018 – Garnett AM -9/63 – 60/1
For the record, here’s the breakdown of Paspalum PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
- 2 – Brice Garnett.
- 1 – Ryan Brehm, Joel Dahmen, Garrick Higgo, Charley Hoffman, Patton Kizzire, Chad Ramey.
We are into our ninth PGA Tour visit to the Corales so we have history to look into in the pursuit for a winner. Brice Garnett can only be described as Paspalum and tropics specialist on the basis that prior to his win here in 2018, he had finished 6th (2014) and 7th (2015) at El Camaleon – host course of the Mayakoba Classic. He’s also gone on to finish 5th (2021), 7th (2022) and 1st (2024) at Grand Reserve – host course of the Puerto Rico Open. An understated coastal specialist, Garnett had also finished in the top 20 across Pebble Beach and Harbour Town, previous to winning this off a 31st place finish at Copperhead.
2019 saw veteran Graeme McDowell take his 4th PGA Tour title. Now we know with G-Mac that coastal affairs are exactly what he excels at. The 2010 U.S. Open winner at Pebble Beach, McDowell’s wins on the PGA Tour have also come at Harbour Town (2013), Mayakoba (2015) and naturally here. So all 4 victories on the coast. You can also add the 2020 Saudi International to that list played at Royal Greens G&CC. That course is played around 4 lakes, with a stretch of the course running alongside the Red Sea. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have also noted that McDowell’s wins in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Saudi Arabia, were all on Paspalum putting surfaces.
2020 saw Hudson Swafford win the Corales in September. You’ll have done well to dig him out at 200/1. Injury had ravaged his 2020 with far more MCs than pay cheques, but he arrived in the Dominican Republic off 56th at Silverado. A winner on the Bermudagrass greens of PGA West in 2017, Swafford’s coastal highlights on the PGA Tour had been exclusively at Waialae Country Club where he had finished 8th (2014), 9th (2016) and 3rd (2019). Prior to winning this 11 appearances on Paspalum golf courses on the PGA Tour had heralded no better finish than 24th at the 2015 CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur and Swafford’s previous visit to Corales Golf Club had resulted in a MC.
Onto 2021 where Joel Dahmen won his maiden PGA Tour title on his 111th PGA Tour start at 50/1. 6 missed cuts in 7 2021 outings was hardly compelling, but what Joel lacked in current form he made up for in course form. 11th (3rd after 36 holes), 13th and 12th (7th after 36 holes) on his 3 goes here at Corales was pretty stellar, plus he had also finished 6th at Mayakoba in 2019, which we know is a coastal, Paspalum grassed affair.
2022 saw Tour rookie Chad Ramey win at 50/1. 26th (8th after 54 holes) at Sanderson Farms, 14th at the Shriners Children’s Open and 17th at the Bermuda Championship in the Fall had shown a level of talent on the main Tour. That was before 5th at the Puerto Rico Open, where Chad had been 3rd after 54 holes, which they played just 4 weeks prior to the Corales. Clearly the Paspalum, coastal, sub-tropical climes of Puerto Rico and Costa Rico worked for the Mississippi man.
2023 saw Matt Wallace land his very first PGA Tour title here, building upon 4 on the DP World Tour. Winless for 5 years, he held off Nicolai Hojgaard by a shot with a great mix of long driving and solid ball-striking. Matt had finished 7th at the Valspar Championship in Tampa, before jumping on a jet to the Dominican Republic.
2024 and Billy Horschel took the title. Disappointed to have missed out on The Masters and Signature event RBC Heritage, he’d shown good form in the build-up finishing 9th at PGA National, 12th at Copperhead and 7th at Memorial Park at the Houston Open. He arrived off an immediate MC at TPC San Antonio, but ranked 4th across my 8-week tournament analysis in the Corales field for Strokes Gained Current Form on his arrival.
2025 was a different story with Garrick Higgo playing out of the PGA Tour 126 to 150 category. A lack of outings had meant the South African had played a mix of PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events. He arrived in good nick with 4 straight cuts made including 12th at the Puerto Rico Open and 3rd at the Club Car Championship.
Given the Open Championship is the key focus this week, I won’t be placing any bets on this week’s Corales Championship – best of luck if you’re having a bet!
