Puerto Rico Preview

Opposite-field PGA Tour events are some of my favorite events of the year. They often produce a career-changing win. As I said in a tweet earlier this week, Victor Hovland, Tony Finau, and Colin Morikawa are among the players who have earned wins at oppo (that's what the cool kids call them) events. 

This week's field comprised of young players looking to solidify their spot on Tour, veterans looking for a chance to reignite their career, and future stars looking for their first win. 

A quick breakdown of the field. 

My Pick‍

Martin Trainer- A former winner here in 2019, he has been playing some really good golf this season. He has back-to-back top-10 finishes on the KFT, including a T5 last week at the Argentina Open. He has also made both cuts on the PGA Tour this season, including a T19 in Mexico. 

Need A Good Week

It has been a tough year for the KFT and Q-school graduates. There have been limited opportunities for them to even get in events, but with the reshuffle just a few weeks away, multiple players badly need a solid week. The following players in the KFT/Q-school category have yet to make a cut this season.

Pierceson Coody

Nicholas Lindheim

Patrick Fishburn

Josh Teater

Scott Gutschewski

Roger Sloan

Blaine Hale Jr

Raul Pereda

^{They Are Just Kids}

Evan Pena- The 15-year-old native of Puerto Rico won an AJGA event in PR earlier this year and has played well in numerous Junior events in Florida and the Caribbean. 

Kelvin Hernandez- Hernandez, like Pena, is from Puerto Rico and is a freshman at UNC-Greensboro and will play his first PGA Tour event. He won over 120 junior events and earned a spot in the field after finishing runner-up in the Michelob Ultra Tour Championship junior event (beer sponsor for a junior event is hilarious). 

Gareth Steyn- The sophomore from Australia, who plays college golf at Georgia State, fired a three-round total of 15-under at a college event in the Bahamas to earn a spot in the field. It was his first college win. 

Jackson Van Paris- The junior at Vanderbilt is a rising star, currently ranked 30th in the World Amateur Rankings (WAR). In 2018, at age 14, he became the youngest person to win a match in the U.S. Amateur since Bobby Jones in 2016. Last year, he set the course record at Pinehurst #4 when he fired a 61 in the North and South. 

Justin Hastings- The junior at San Diego State and native of the Cayman Islands is currently ranked 87th in WAR. In four events this season at SDSU, he has averaged just over 69. Hastings received a sponsor's exemption. 

Welcome Back

Aaron Wise- Wise has been on a medical leave for mental health and will play for the first time since the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where he missed the cut. 

Sleepers

Tommy Gainey—Two Gloves always plays well in the Caribbean, including a win in the Bahamas on the Korn Ferry Tour. Although he has missed his last two KFT cuts, he started the season with two top-25s in the first three events, both of which came in the two Bahamas events. 

Yuxin Lin- The lefty and University of Florida alum bombs it, and I mean bombs it. I caddied for Mark in the second stage of Q-school, and we played with him in the third round. It was impressive to watch. Although his early pro career has been a struggle at times, there is no denying the talent. 

Ryan Cole—The Monday qualifier has been on a TEAR on the Minor League Tour in Florida. It included a six-round stretch where he shot either 63 or 64. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play well. 

Great Stories

Domenico Geminiani- Domenico has won the West Florida Tour 25 times. But pro golf is expensive and has been out of money numerous times. He has driven Uber and tried his hand at pro pickleball. Now, he has a chance in a PGA tour event. What an opportunity. 

Jeff Overton- Overton Monday Q'd for the second consecutive week. Although he missed the cut at the Honda last week it is great to see him competing regularly again. He was out over 7 years after nearly dying from an infection in his spine. 

Michael Gligic- The Canadian struggled last year on Tour and then fell short at Q-school so only has conditional status on KFT. He Monday Q'd last week for Honda and backed it up with another Monday Q this week. 

Evan Harmeling—The Princeton grad has been grinding for 12 years. Although he has 77 career KFT starts and a win, he has not played a single PGA Tour event. He was coasting at this week's Monday Q before a triple bogey on his 17th hole derailed his run. The triple left him at 5-under and in a four-for-one playoff. He promptly birdied the first playoff hole and got through.