Course Guide: The Championship Course at Hurstbourne Country Club was a surprise on its debut on the PGA Tour in 2025, playing as the 5th toughest on the schedule. This venue over the years has seen early stage U.S. Open Local Qualifying, Kentucky Open, Kentucky Amateur action. The course is a 7,056 yard, Par 70, with 2 par-5s, with both Chan Kim and William Mouw shooting -9/61s.
Hurstbourne Country Club – Championship Course, Louisville, Kentucky: Designer: Chic Adams 1967, with Keith R. Foster 2023 and 2024; Course Type: Parkland, Short; Par: 70; Length: 7,056 yards; Number of Holes with Water In-Play: 6; Number of Sand Bunkers: 68; Acres of Fairway: 25; Fairways: Meyer Zoysiagrass; Rough: Kentucky Bluegrass with Fine Fescue 4-6″; Greens: 4,750 sq.ft average featuring A1/A4 Bentgrass; Stimpmeter: 11ft.
Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Hurstbourne Country Club and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:
- 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: 71.12 (+1.12), Rank 5 of 50 courses
Course Overview: The Championship Course at Hurstbourne qualifies as a classical-style course, although it was originally built in 1967. Designer Chic Adams’ work leaned toward Golden Age principles so think of Hurstbourne as a tree-lined, relatively modern take on classical architecture. In recent times, the course was renovated by Keith Foster, a renowned architect known for restoring Golden Age courses, i.e. PGA Tour stalwart Colonial Country Club and 2025 Truist Championship stop-off Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Foster re-shaped bunkers to emphasise strategy and aesthetics, removed excess trees to restore original sightlines and wind corridors, widened fairways to allow varied shot-making angle, plus improved green complexes whilst preserving traditional character.
As a 7,056 yard, Par 70 this is not a long course. With front and back nines reversed for the PGA Tour, the Championship Course is thought of as a strategic, well-balanced test of golf – rewarding players who think their way around rather than simply overpowering it.
Fairways are tree-lined but not overly narrow, whilst many holes encourage shot-shaping. The green complexes are described as the main defence of the course. Mid-size, contoured and fast during tournaments. Multiple tiers and subtle ridges make lag putting tough. Short-sided misses around the green are punished via false fronts, run-off areas and deep sand traps.
2025 featured dry, firm conditions, due to a prolonged period of drought in Louisville. This won’t be the case in 2026 so expect lower scoring.
With extreme Kentucky summer temperatures, Zoysiagrass also features here on the fairways. On the PGA Tour Zoysiagrass fairways feature at TPC Southwind (FedEx St Jude Championship), East Lake (Tour Championship), Narashino CC (ZOZO Championship), Yokohama Country Club (Baycurrent Classic), Port Royal Golf Course (Bermuda Championship) plus CJ Cup Byron Nelson current venue TPC Craig Ranch plus with previous host venue Trinity Forest, which was planted from tee to green with Zoysiagrass. These fairways also featured at the Atlanta Athletic Club (2011 PGA Championship; Bellerive Country Club (2018 PGA Championship) and Valhalla (2024’s PGA Championship). Zoysia isn’t the most popular of fairway grasses with many players who claim the quirky grass promotes flyers.
ISCO Championship Winners: Hosted at Hurstbourne: 2025: William Mouw (-10): Hosted at Keene Trace: 2024: Harry Hall (-22); 2023: Vincent Norrman (-22); 2022: Trey Mullinax (-25); 2021: Seamus Power (-21); 2019: Jim Herman (-26); 2018: Troy Merritt (-23); Hosted at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: 2017: Grayson Murray (-21); 2016: Aaron Baddeley (-18); 2015: Scott Piercy (-19).
- 2025: William Mouw 67-73-69-61 -10/270 AM/PM Wave
- 2024: Harry Hall 66-67-64-69 -22/266 AM/PM Wave
- 2023: Vincent Norrman 66-67-65-62 -22/266 PM/AM Wave
- 2022: Trey Mullinax 65-65-67-66 -25/263 AM/PM Wave
- 2021: Seamus Power 65-68-67-67 -21/267 PM/AM Wave
- 2019: Jim Herman 65-65-62-70 -26/262 PM/AM Wave
- 2018: Troy Merritt 62-67-69-67 -23/265 PM/AM Wave
OWGR of ISCO Championship Winners: 2025: Mouw 217; 2024: Hall 188; 2023: Norrman 286; 2022: Mullinax 370; 2021: Power 210; 2019: Herman 1252; 2018: Merritt 327.
Datagolf Ranking ISCO Championship Winners: 2025: Mouw 217; 2024: Hall 140; 2023: Norrman 130; 2022: Mullinax 314; 2021: Power 93.
Hurstbourne Cut Line: 2025: +1.
Lead Score Progression:
- 2025: Round 1 -9; Round 2 -11; Round 3 -8; Round 4 -10.
Path to Victory: Below are the round positions for the winners of the ISCO Championship at Hurstbourne:
- 2025 – William Mouw: Round 1: 10th, Round 2: 37th, Round 3: 25th.
Shots From the Lead: Below are the ISCO Championship winners here at Hurstbourne and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
- 2025 – William Mouw: Round 1: 6 back, Round 2: 11 back, Round 3: 7 back.
Incoming Form of ISCO Championship winners since 2018:
- William Mouw: MC JDC/34th Rocket/MC Canada/MC Colonial.
- Harry Hall: 12th JDC/31st Rocket/42nd Canada/MC Colonial.
- Vincent Norrman: 24th Rocket/MC Travelers/MC US Open/MC Canada.
- Trey Mullinax: MC JDC/MC Travelers/69th Canada/MC Colonial.
- Seamus Power: 8th JDC/8th Rocket/19th Travelers/19th Palmetto.
- Jim Herman: MC JDC/MC Rocket /MDF Travelers/MC Canada.
- Troy Merritt: 43rd JDC/17th Quicken/MC Travelers/12th St Jude.
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.
My published predictor is available here. Top 10 of my published predictor are: 1) Max Homa; 2) Ben Kohles; 3) Davis Thompson; 4) Daniel Van Tonder; 5) Harry Higgs; 6) Jorge Campillo; 7) Brandon Stone; 8) Tyler Duncan ; 9) Lucas Glover; 10) Stephan Jaeger.
ISCO Championship Winning Prices: 2025: Mouw 66/1; 2024: Hall 60/1; 2023: Norrman 28/1; 2022: Mullinax 150/1; 2021: Power 20/1F; 2019: Herman 500/1; 2018: Merritt 55/1; 2017: Murray 66/1; 2016: Baddeley 55/1; 2015: Piercy 25/1. Past 5 Renewals Average: 65/1; Average: 103/1.
Historical Weather:
- 2025: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 90. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny. High of 93. Winds SSW at 5-10 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy with occasional thunderstorms. High of 92. Wind SW at 5-10 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Due to lightning total delay of 3 hours, 31 minutes. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 90. Winds WSW at 6-12 mph.
Latest weather forecast for Louisville, Kentucky is here.
Temperatures around the 28-33 degrees Celsius (82-91 Fahrenheit) mark will greet the players and I’m expecting softer turn conditions on the basis that his part of Kentucky has taken 288mm – 11.3 inches – of rain in June. +70% chance of thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday would be likely to produce really receptive conditions, the likes of which we didn’t see in 2025. Significant winds don’t look a particular issue apart from potentially early starters, with south-westerly gusts up to 20mph, calming in the afternoons.
Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the PGA Championship which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
- Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Neal Shipley; 2) Will Gordon; 3) Rico Hoey / Jackson Koivun; 5) Marcelo Rozo; 6) Patrick Fishburn / Alejandro Tosti; 8) Kevin Streelman; 9) Luke List; 10) Max Homa / Miles Russell; 12) Martin Laird / Kris Ventura; 14) William Mouw; 15) Steven Fisk; 16) Marty Dou / Tyler Duncan; 18) Nick Hardy / Jacob Skov Olesen / Jimmy Stanger; 21) Ben James / Taylor Pendrith / Brendon Todd; 24) Beau Hossler; 25) Harry Higgs.
- Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Ben Kohles; 2) Paul Peterson; 3) Zac Blair; 4) Tom Hoge; 5) David Skinns; 6) Dylan Wu; 7) Tyler Collet; 8) Tyler Duncan; 9) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Jacob Skov Olesen; 11) Lucas Glover; 12) Rafael Campos / Denny McCarthy; 14) Jeffrey Kang; 15) Brice Garnett / Fabian Gomez; 17) A.J. Ewart / Hayden Springer; 19) Joel Dahmen; 20) Davis Chatfield / Adam Svensson; 22) Hank Lebioda / William Mouw; 24) Ben James / David Lipsky.
- Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Martin Laird; 2) Jonathan Byrd; 3) Seung-yul Noh; 4) Karl Vilips; 5) Adrien Dumont de Chassart; 6) Patton Kizzire / Peter Malnati / Miles Russell / Aaron Wise; 10) Chandler Philips; 11) Mackenzie Hughes / Stephan Jaeger; 13) Christiaan Bezuidenhout; 14) Tyler Duncan; 15) Chan Kim; 16) Camilo Villegas; 17) David Lipsky; 18) Jeffrey Kang; 19) A.J. Ewart; 20) Jacob Skov Olesen; 21) Takumi Kanaya; 22) Jimmy Stanger.
- Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Tyler Duncan; 2) Ben Kohles; 3) Rico Hoey / Miles Russell; 5) Jacob Skov Olesen; 6) Jeffrey Kang; 7) Ben James; 8) Tom Hoge / Chan Kim; 10) Lucas Glover; 11) David Skinns; 12) Patrick Fishburn / Seung-yul Noh; 14) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Hank Lebioda; 16) Max Homa; 17) Fabian Gomez / William Mouw; 19) Marty Dou / A.J. Ewart; 21) Zac Blair / Taylor Pendrith; 23) Jackson Koivun; 24) Joel Dahmen; 25) Marcelo Rozo.
- Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Troy Merritt; 2) Vince Whaley; 3) Luke Clanton / A.J. Ewart / Lee Hodges; 6) Jonathan Byrd / Mackenzie Hughes / Denny McCarthy; 9) Beau Hossler / Pontus Nyholm; 11) Ben Silverman; 12) Tom Hoge / Peter Malnati / Aaron Wise; 15) Max Homa; 16) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Steven Fisk; 18) Zac Blair / Taylor Pendrith; 20) Davis Chatfield; 21) Kris Ventura; 22) Chandler Philips / Camilo Villegas; 24) Tyler Duncan; 25) Brice Garnett.
- Top 25 SG Total: 1) Tyler Duncan; 2) Jacob Skov Olesen; 3) Christiaan Bezuidenhout; 4) Miles Russell; 5) A.J. Ewart; 6) Troy Merritt; 7) Tom Hoge / Max Homa / Chan Kim; 10) Ben James; 11) Lee Hodges / Rico Hoey; 13) Ben Kohles; 14) Patrick Fishburn; 15) Zac Blair; 16) Denny McCarthy; 17) Luke Clanton / Jeffrey Kang / Taylor Pendrith; 20) Brice Garnett / Harry Higgs; 23) Mackenzie Hughes; 24) Marty Dou / Beau Hossler.
Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the Strokes Gained Stats of the ISCO Championship winners here at Hurstbourne Country Club gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this parkland test:
Strokes Gained Tournament Trends:
- 2025, William Mouw (-10). SG Off the Tee: 19th, SG Approach: 11th, SG Around the Green: 29th, SG Tee to Green: 8th, SG Putting: 5th.
Statistically from a Stroke Gained perspective William Mouw gained on average 1.91 strokes per round from Tee to Green (54%) and 1.65 Putting (46%).
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the winners of the ISCO Championship at Hurstbourne gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this parkland test:
- 2025, William Mouw (-10). 282 yards (64th), 51.8% fairways (42nd), 72.2% greens in regulation (3rd), 70.0 % scrambling (2nd), 1.75 putts per GIR (32nd).
Let’s take a view from players as to how Hurstbourne Country Club sets up and what skill sets the course favours:
William Mouw: “I mean, in the past this tournament has, you know, obviously dealt with some rain and it’s been more of a shootout. I don’t quite think that everyone was really expecting this, but once we came here and noticed how firm the greens were and how thick the rough was, it was just a very good test of golf that is very rewarding when played the right way. But if not, things can get out of hand very fast.”
Kevin Kisner: “Well, bombers have a big advantage on some of the doglegs, they cover 1 over that I can’t. I keep whacking trees trying to cover them. But it’s so firm, you’ve got to get lucky on some of these bounces to hold the fairways. And everybody’s playing from the rough, so depends on the lies you catch on certain holes where it’s almost impossible to hit the fairway. But I think a plotter has as good a chance as a bomber because of how firm it is. If I’m hitting in the fairway, it’s still getting out there pretty good.”
Adam Hadwin: “Was I surprised a 61 was out there this morning? You’ve got enough holes with wedges in. You take care of the harder holes, birdie the par 5s, they’re both very reachable. It just, you’ve got to play a great round of golf, no doubt, but there’s enough wedges holes and back pin locations that even if you’re out of position you can kind of get back to, but certainly you’re not making many mistakes, that’s for sure.”
For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Bentgrass green PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
- 3 – Lucas Glover.
- 2 – Martin Laird, Troy Merritt.
- 1 – Jonathan Byrd, Cameron Champ, Lee Hodges, Max Homa, Ben Martin, William Mouw, Taylor Pendrith, Seamus Power, Kevin Streelman, Davis Thompson, Brendon Todd, Camilo Villegas.
Won by William Mouw (66/1), Harry Hall (60/1), Vincent Norrman (28/1), Trey Mullinax (150/1), Seamus Power (20/1), Jim Herman (500/1) and Troy Merritt (55/1), the full 2-year PGA Tour exemption available to the winner is a huge carrot, as is the possibility of harvesting enough FedEx Cup points to grab a spot in the magical top 70 (FedEx Cup Playoffs) or top 100 (full PGA Status for 2027). Played in sweltering, humid and low-water drought conditions at the new Hurstbourne venue in Louisville, William Mouw won this at -10/270 in 2025.
Linking these 6 champions is a task I have not got enough spare days to master.
Our first visit to Hurstbourne saw William Mouw start Sunday in the 9th from last grouping a full 2 hours before 54-hole leader Paul Peterson, Luke List (you read that correctly) and Kris Ventura. A -9/61 from the Californian, was 4 shots better than anybody else and he landed his maiden PGA Tour victory in his rookie season. Inbound form read MC-MC-MC-34-MC.
2024 champion Harry Hall arrived in Kentucky directly from a season’s best 12th at the John Deere Classic in Illinois. At 134th in the FedEx Cup standings, his status for 2025 still very much had to be earned.
In 2023 Swede Norrman had shown promise in his first season on the PGA Tour. Since the end of April, 9th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans when partnered with Matthias Schwab, 18th at the Mexico Open, 8th at the Byron Nelson, and 24th the outing before at the Rocket Mortgage Classic highlighted a player getting to grips with the top Tour in world golf.
Mullinax had in-bound form of MC-MC-69-MC across his last 4 appearances when arriving in Kentucky. Power on the other hand was in red-hot form and was the betting favourite. Jim Herman arrived off the back of 7 Missed Cuts and a single MDF in his previous 8 appearances. Troy Merritt had finished 12th, 17th and 43rd across 3 of his past 4 appearances, so was in decent enough nick.
One fairly obvious thing does link the 6 though. All had motivation to play well on the basis of their FedEx Cup ranking on arrival. Merritt, despite his good form, was 131st in the season long standings, with no win exemption to rest his laurels on. Seamus Power was in career-best form, but at 123rd in the FedEx Cup still had work to do to lock-up full playing privileges for the following season. Trey Mullinax was at 140th in the FedEx Cup standings so had work to do to avoid playing in the Korn Ferry Playoffs. Vincent Norrman was at 113th in the FedEx Cup and was working hard to gain his full playing privileges for 2024 in his rookie season. Hall was at 134 and Mouw at 153 in the FEC standings arriving in Kentucky.
As you would expect, Jim Herman was in the PGA Tour wastelands, ranking 232nd in the FedEx Cup with no win exemption prop to fall back upon.
