Palmetto Golf Championship Preview and Predictions

Overview

PGA Tour fans get a one-time stop for the Palmetto Golf Championship at Congaree to replace the canceled RBC Canadian Open. The Canadian Open was canceled for the second consecutive season due to the lingering concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Palmetto Championship marks the third PGA Tour event played in the state of South Carolina this season. Players are vying for 500 FedEx Cup points and a $7.3 million purse.

The Course

The Congaree Golf Club is a par-71 spanning 7,655 yards. Opened in 2017, the Tom Fazio-designed track is situated in South Carolina, approximately 30 miles north of Savannah, Georgia. 

Built on 3,200 acres, the course will be a true test for the best hitters in golf, with extreme length and natural hazards. The par-5 4th hole spans 645 yards, and there are a pair of par-4’s on the front nine stretching longer than 520 yards.

The Field

The top-ranked player in the world will tee it up in his home state. Dustin Johnson highlights nine of the top 50 players in the world in the event. The traditional 156-man field will have a chance to win the one-time replacement event.

Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka returns to play for the first time since his T2 at the PGA Championship. Alongside Koepka are fellow major champions Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, and Danny Willett. 

We get our first look at new fresh faces playing in their first PGA Tour event. Fred Haskins Award winner John Pak is making his professional debut after a standout collegiate career that earned him the top-ranked spot in the inaugural PGA Tour University Class. 

Former top amateur Davis Thompson returns to a PGA Tour event for the first time as a professional. Thompson finished T23 at the RSM Classic as an amateur in 2020.

While many players are electing to skip the event in preparation for the U.S. Open, there are a handful of high-profile names accompanying Johnson and Koepka. World No. 10 Tyrrell Hatton is in the field, along with Tommy Fleetwood, Kevin Kisner, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Sungjae Im.

Betting Odds

We are set for one of the weaker fields, given the U.S. Open happening the following week. Even so, there are some players to key in on to win the tournament. 

With no historical data to piece together what it will take to win the tournament, cappers will have to look at comparable golf courses to put together a list of golfers with the best chance to end Sunday atop the leaderboard.

The PGA Tour typically takes it easy on players playing at a golf course for the first time, so expect the course set up to favor the participants. Like any Tour event, hitting fairways will be a premium here as the fairways are wide, but hitting it anywhere else will be penal. 

Let’s take a look at the betting odds for this weekend.

Johnson is the Vegas favorite to take home the title in his home state. The current FedEx Cup champion is +750 to win.

Right behind Johnson is Koepka at +900, followed by Hatton at +1100. Rounding out the top five is Fitzpatrick (+1200) and Im (+1600).