Horses for Courses: THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK

The second leg of the Las Vegas exacta takes the TOUR north of downtown to Shadow Creek Club in North Las Vegas. A select field of 78 will make the minutes journey across town this season instead of taking a flight to Jeju Island, South Korea. Usual host Club at Nine Bridges will pass the baton to Shadow Creek this season as the show must go on. RELATED: Power Rankings | Five things to know about Shadow Creek Shadow Creek Club was designed and redesigned by Tom Fazio (1989, 2008) and his group at the behest of casino owner Steve Wynn. The desert property was built from scratch. The desert land was transformed into a parkland oasis with water features, imported trees and lush, green conditions. Over-seeded Bermuda will be lush and green for television and the rough will play around 3.5 inches and up. The bentgrass greens should roll perfectly around 12 feet on the Stimpmeter but will not be the large targets enjoyed last week. This week the greens only average 5,500 square feet so accuracy on approach will be awarded. Water will feature on nine holes and 74 pristine bunkers are scattered throughout the 7,527 yards (Par-72). Dustin Johnson holds the course record, 66, after the 2008 renovation, so that suggests Par will be a decent score this week. The last time that most gamers saw the course was The Match: Tiger vs. Phil on Thanksgiving weekend 2018. Both are not entered this week. With a limited field, unknown (to most) track and no cut after 36 holes, the premium players will reinforce their class, again. The last track on TOUR that was “new” to most of the players was Olympia Fields for the BMW Championship followed by Winged Foot for the U.S. Open. You’ll find some clues there as well. Remember Fazio has also been involved in the design upkeep at Augusta National, Quail Hollow Club and Eagle Point if you’re digging deeper. Massive prize pool this week as the winner takes home $1.755 million and 500 FedExCup points for their efforts. Event Winners at Nine Bridges Club, Jeju Island (runner up, if entered) 2020: Justin Thomas 2019: Brooks Koepka (Gary Woodland) 2018: Justin Thomas (Marc Leishman, playoff) Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Players in BOLD below deserve deeper inspection. Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green 1 Justin Thomas 2 Hideki Matsuyama 3 Jon Rahm 4 Sergio Garcia 5 Collin Morikawa 6 Rory McIlroy 7 Xander Schauffele 9 Dustin Johnson 10 Scottie Scheffler 11 Tony Finau 12 Patrick Cantlay 13 Tyrrell Hatton 14 Russell Henley 15 Daniel Berger 18 Harris English 20 Viktor Hovland 21 Paul Casey 23 Joaquin Niemann Strokes-Gained: Putting 2 Matthew Fitzpatrick 5 Kevin Na 6 Ian Poulter 6 Matt Kuchar 8 Mackenzie Hughes 15 Kevin Kisner 17 Daniel Berger 18 Harris English 20 Brendon Todd 22 Jon Rahm 26 Tommy Fleetwood Bogey Avoidance 2 Jon Rahm 3 Harris English 4 Xander Schauffele 5 Russell Henley 8 Justin Thomas (Won PGA Quail Hollow) 10 Daniel Berger 12 Abraham Ancer 17 Brian Harman (Won Wells Fargo Eagle Point) 18 Paul Casey 19 Tyrrell Hatton 21 Hideki Matsuyama 23 Brendon Todd Top 25 Shriners (entered this week) 2 Matthew Wolff 4 Abraham Ancer 8 Patrick Cantlay 8 Si Woo Kim 13 Sungjae Im 13 Joaquin Niemann 13 Brian Harman 19 Louis Oosthuizen 24 Cameron Smith Top Finishers BMW Championship Wentworth (entered this week) 1 Tyrell Hatton 5 Ian Poulter 7 Matthew Fitzpatrick 13 Tommy Fleetwood 13 Shane Lowry 37 Justin Rose

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