The PGA Tour will feature its second no-cut event in a row this week as it heads down south for the CJ Cup in South Carolina. The home state in the tournament titles says something about this event, which was originally set to be held in South Korea every season. It was played in Las Vegas last year and this season heads to Congaree Golf Club, which hosted the one-off Palmetto Championship two years ago in the pandemic altered 2021 season.
There is a lot to wade through this week, so don’t forget to check out the Stokastic PGA DFS projections, which has both scoring data, and PGA DFS ownership projections. Stokastic PGA DFS projections come out on Monday and will be updated throughout the week. There are a ton of big PGA DFS contests around the industry so be sure to check them out before making any final decisions.
PGA DFS Picks & Preview: The CJ Cup in South Carolina
This week is another no-cut event and has a $10.5 million prize purse, the second largest of the fall. As a result, it’s not overly shocking to see a lot of big names in the field this week, as far less travel is required and the payouts remain nearly as big as last week. The CJ Cup has a similar history to the Zozo Championship in that top players have tended to pop up with good weeks at this event after prolonged rest and have been able to grab wins. Thomas has won this event twice in the fall while McIlroy grabbed a win at this event last season. This will be the first time both Thomas and Scheffler have played competitively since the Tour Championship in late August.
Here’s a list of the top five players in the OWGR in the Shriners field this week:
- Scottie Scheffler – 1
- Rory McIlroy – 3
- Jon Rahm – 5
- Justin Thomas – 8
- Collin Morikawa – 9
Other Notables: Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood
Fowler, Jason Day and Webb Simpson are all playing as a result of sponsors’ exemptions. A month ago it might have been easy to write off this trio, but Day is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Shriners where he shot a final round of 63, and Fowler is coming off his best finish in multiple seasons. Simpson also has ties to the area and has done some of his best work on more technical tracks in this part of the world. Both Tom Kim and Sungjae Im will be playing their third week in a row and making the trip back from Japan. It’s a lot of flight time for anyone, although if anyone can handle it it’s these two, as youth and experience in traveling are on their side.
The CJ Cup in South Carolina Past Winners
2021: Rory McIlroy (20-1)
- Lead-in: 14/4/43 (was playing in his first PGA fall swing event since FedEx Playoffs)
2020: Jason Kokrak (100-1)
- Lead-in: MC/17/6 (MC’d at only previous fall start – Shriners)
2019: Justin Thomas (7-1)
- Lead-in: 4/3/1 (finished fourth at Fortinet at beginning of fall, also won during Playoffs in late summer)
As mentioned above, this event has been dominated by higher-end players with one outlier result thrown in between. Jason Kokrak began a rather dominant run by grabbing a win at this event in the fall of 2020 (the first of his career) and had only recorded a missed cut at one fall event prior to winning. Other than the Kokrak win, the top players have tended to have a lot of success at this event, with Brooks Koepka and Thomas both winning as one of the favorites and McIlroy winning at what seem like very generous odds of 20-1 last season.
The big quirk in this year’s event is the change in venues and dates. Congaree produced a wild Sunday finish in 2021 when it hosted the Palmetto Championship, but the field was also far less than what we’ll see this week. This year, the CJ Cup is also being played after the Zozo Championship, while in years prior it was played before. Anyone in the field who has played each of the last two weeks, or even just last week, is going to be at a significant rest disadvantage.
Want to see who is trending as a strong play early? Check out Stokastic’s PGA DFS projections, which will be updated on Monday and throughout the week.
The CJ Cup in South Carolina Course Preview
Congaree Golf Club (Ridgeland, South Carolina): Par 71, 7,655 yards
Greens: Bermuda
Designer: Tom Fazio (2017)
Similar Courses:
- The Summit Club
- Caves Valley
- Seaside Course (Sea Island)
- Conway Farms
This will be the second year in a row that the event will be hosted by a Tom Fazio designed venue. The Summit Club hosted this event last year and is one of a handful of famous courses in the Nevada desert that Fazio designed. Congaree is located in a completely different part of the country though and will feature big sprawling Bermuda greens that played quite fast the last time players saw them in 2021.
The course only yielded a winning score of 11-under par that season, although there may be lower scoring this time around. Despite Congaree playing extremely long at over 7,600 yards for a Par 71, it still didn’t disadvantage the shorter hitters off the tee very much. Overall, Congaree is actually quite easy off the tee, as are many Fazio designs. The big fairways don’t challenge players much and there are not a ton of doglegs built into the venue either. That means even the shorter hitters can grip it and rip it without worrying about not finding the fairways unless they get super wild with the driver.
Things do get more difficult after that. Green in regulation percentages and scrambling success rates were lower than average for the field in 2021 at Congaree. Strong approach play is a must, but a good around-the-green game is a requirement too for for most Fazio designed venues. There are a couple of drivable par 4’s that play under 400 yards in length and will require skill around the green to set up birdie chances. There are also three par 4’s on the course that measure in at over 500 yards. Expect these holes to challenge the players and most likely help reveal who the best short games are.
In a lot of ways, Congaree is an anomaly. It’s the complete opposite of some of the classic venues in this part of the world in that it plays as wide open off the tee and possesses a huge variety of scoring holes and lengthier challenging options. Those scoring holes, and what will likely be easier conditions, should set up a good finish down the stretch this year, much like in 2021 at this venue when six different players tied for second place at just one shot back.
Congaree Golf Club Past Winners and Stats
2021 — Garrick Higgo (11-under par)
Strokes Gained: TTG +8.5; APP 4.6+; OTT 3.4+; ATG +0.6; PUTT +3.8
Garrick Higgo was good throughout the bag when he won here in 2021, as were many of the top players from that event. Four of the six runner-ups at this event in 2021 were right up there with Higgo in terms of what they did tee to green, with five different players from the top seven gaining over 10 strokes tee to green. The remaining two names (Chesson Hadley and Bo Van Pelt) both gained over six strokes putting alone.
The CJ Cup in South Carolina Recent Form Watch
Strokes Gained on Approach (Last 50 Rounds)
- Russell Henley
- Scottie Scheffler
- Mito Pereira
- Collin Morikawa
- Corey Conners
Three-Putt Avoidance (Last 50 Rounds)
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Alex Noren
- Justin Thomas
- Keegan Bradley
- Cameron Davis
Top Five Strokes Gained Total (Last Six Events)
- Sepp Straka
- Max Homa
- Sungjae Im
- Taylor Montgomery
- Andrew Putnam
The CJ Cup in South Carolina Weather Forecast
Thursday a.m.: 60 F, winds 2-4 mph
Thursday p.m.: 65-70 F, winds 4-5 mph
Friday a.m.: 60 F, winds 2-4 mph
Friday p.m.: 70-75 F, winds 4-5 mph
The early fall weather in South Carolina looks unbeatable right now. There’s almost no wind in the forecast and little to no chance of precipitation. It may be a little cooler in the morning on both starting days, which could make the early wave a slight fade spot for showdown lineups.
For more updates for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open, tune into the PGA DFS Lineup Builder show Tuesday afternoon on the Stokastic YouTube Channel.
CJ Cup in South Carolina Early Betting Leans
Aaron Wise | BetMGM Outright
Wise comes into this event off just a 64th-place finish at the Shriners. That’s been the only start for Wise this fall and he is coming in with similar amounts of rest as each of the past three winners of this week’s event. Kokrak had missed his only cut in the fall before winning, while McIlroy was also making a return to the PGA Tour at this time last year after a long layoff after the Tour Championship. Wise is big off the tee but can also get dialed in with his irons when he’s in a groove. His putter was very positive for him to end last season and he finished an encouraging fifth at The Summit Club, another Fazio design, late in 2021. He also had a strong 17th finish at the Fazio-designed Caves Valley at the BMW Championship. Look for Wise to be up there in the odds, given the elite field and the fact that he’s coming off a poor matchup.
Ranked top 20 in strokes gained approach, off the tee and tee to green, Wise has the firepower to take on a venue like Congaree and had some great results in the middle of last season. Now rested after a couple weeks off, look for Wise to potentially pop up on leaderboards this week. Targeting him for a top 20 or better result should be a solid play to build around.
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