Power Rankings: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

News flash: Brooks Koepka wins non-majors, too. Any golfer would love to strut around with the label of a guy who rises up only for majors – he’s won four of them, so it’s not like it’s entirely inaccurate – but his body of work includes victories in three other tournaments on the PGA TOUR. Last year’s edition of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES is among the competitions that he’s conquered. The Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island 60 miles south of mainland South Korea hosts for the third consecutive year. Scroll past the projected contenders for how the course has played, how those in the field should plan to attack it and more. POWER RANKINGS: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Joaquin Niemann will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES launches the latest iteration of the Asian Swing. It spans three weeks. The inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan is on deck and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China is in the hole. All three tournaments are 78-man invitationals with no cut. This week’s contest incorporates both South Korean professionals via the Official World Golf Ranking and members of the KPGA. Two spots also are reserved for Asian Tour members. The majority of the field consists of PGA TOUR members in order of the 2018-19 FedExCup standings. Nine Bridges is a stock par 72 extending to 7,241 yards this year. That’s not long by today’s standards, but it’s 45 yards longer than last year’s tournament. The par-4 sixth, 15th and 16th holes are an aggregate 89 yards longer, the first two of which courtesy of new tees. Meanwhile, the par-5 12th is down 44 yards. At 554 yards, it’s the second-shortest of the four par 5s. Similar to how Golf Club of Houston’s par 5s stand tall against other sets on the PGA TOUR, the par 5s at Nine Bridges have proven to be challenging, averaging 4.88 and 4.70 in the first two editions, respectively. Koepka ranked T4 in par-5 scoring en route his title, but he paced the field in par-4 scoring. The bentgrass greens are large, so hitting them in regulation is priority one. Last year’s field averaged 13.5 per round. But at just 10 feet on the Stimpmeter, they’re slow for TOUR members. The size and speed help ease the course when gusty winds brush over the island, which is often. However, breezes are forecast to be light to moderate throughout the tournament. And with 4-5 feet of rain in recent weeks soaking the property, scoring likely to go lower than last year’s 70.946. Rain might fall on Friday, but they’ll be caught up by Saturday even with an extended delay given the latitude and limited field. Daytime highs will flirt with 70 degrees. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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