Mito Pereira enters the final round of the PGA Championship with the lead. But there are plenty of others in striking distance. Who has a chance and who doesn’t?
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It’s Year 2 for THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the PGA TOUR’s annual stop in South Korea. Get ready for lots of references to Jeju Island, Mount Halla and the challenging winds that made par such a commodity in the last three rounds a year ago. And take a close look at the trophy when the winner holds it up on Sunday – it’s among the most unique in golf. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER Last year, the toughest hole at The Club at Nine Bridges was the 471-yard par-4 10th. Playing to a stroke average of 4.265, it ranked as the 34th toughest par 4 among the 551 par-4 holes played on the PGA TOUR last season. Incoming wind makes the hole play longer. Here’s a flyover video of several holes at the course. LANDING ZONE There are actually two landing zones on the closing hole, the 554-yard par-5 18th at The Club at Nine Bridges. The aggressive, more direct approach is aimed left and requires the player to carry two pot bunkers. The conservative approach is to the right, a more generous landing zone but requiring three shots to the green. Given that the 18th gave up 13 eagles last year while playing to a stroke average of 4.752, many players obviously were tempted by the aggressive line. Here’s a look at the 18th from the green back toward the tee box. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Willis Young: “High pressure will build southward over the Yellow Sea on Wednesday and Thursday, creating breezy northwesterly winds and cooler temperatures of Jeju. Expect a wind shift to the northeast by Friday, with lesser speeds. A mixture of sunshine and clouds will prevail through the weekend, with slightly warmer temperatures.â€� For the latest weather news from Jeju Island, South Korea, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It’s always windy here. It’s just a matter of how windy.Nice to finally tick this one off the box. BY THE NUMBERS 9 under – That’s what Justin Thomas shot in the opening round last year. It ultimately turned out to be the winning score, as Thomas and Marc Leishman reached a playoff after finishing at 9 under. Heavy winds the last three days made scoring more difficult, but some players are hoping it will be less of a factor this week. “I’m thinking if the weather conditions are easier on us, I think somewhere between 10 and 15 will probably most likely win it this year,â€� said Jason Day, who shot 4 under last year. 48.19 – Scrambling percentage for the field last season at The Club at Nine Bridges. That was the lowest percentage among the 50 courses ranked last season on the PGA TOUR, and the only one under 50 percent. Second on the list was Carnoustie at 51.24 percent. 31.32 – Average number of putts needed per round last season at THE CJ CUP. That was the most required of any course on TOUR in 2017-18. SCATTERSHOTS Defending champ Justin Thomas and recently named PGA TOUR Player of the Year Brooks Koepka will be paired for the first two rounds this week. But it’s likely the third – and least decorated – member of that group who will be the most popular: TOUR rookie Sungjae Im, who grew up in Jeju Island. “We’re definitely going to have a big following, and it won’t be for Brooks or myself, that’s for sure,â€� Thomas said. A year ago, Marc Leishman forced a playoff at THE CJ CUP but eventually lost to Justin Thomas on the second extra hole. It was the closest he came to winning last season. Now he enters this week’s event already with a win in Asia at last week’s CIMB Classic. “It was certainly a goal of mine to win this season and to win my first event of the year, of the season is great,â€� Leishman said. Sixteen players from Korea or Korean descent are in the field, including Si Woo Kim, winner of the 2017 PLAYERS Championship, along with TOUR rookie Sungjae Im. One interested observer this week is Presidents Cup International captain Ernie Els, who will be playing with Kim in the first two rounds.“He was on our last Presidents Cup, so he had a bit of a taste of that,â€� Els said. “…  There are so many Korean youngsters here this week, so I’m going to really see how they perform. Not only this week … we’ve got a whole year before the Presidents Cup starts and still a long way to go, but these guys, the young guys are going to be really the core of our team.â€�
Brandt Snedeker dominated the field in Greensboro, closing with a 65 Sunday to bookend his 59 on Thursday for a three-shot victory in the Wyndham Championship.
International captain Ernie Els and U.S. captain Tiger Woods each have four wild-card picks to round our their respective teams. One faces a more difficult task than the other.
