We have a double dose of co-sanctioned action this week.
The Scottish Open is where most eyes will be focused but punters may see just as many opportunities in the joint PGA Tour and DP World Tour production being held in Kentucky.
Keene Trace Golf Club plays host for a fifth straight year. It’s a par 72 measuring 7,238 yards and is set among rolling hills. The greens are Bentgrass.
Trey Mullinax won with 25-under in 2022 while Seamus Power (-21), Jim Herman (-26) and Troy Merritt (-23) were the three winners before it became co-sanctioned.
In short, it’s yet another birdie fest, something we’re seeing an awful lot of on the PGA Tour at present.
Americans occupied the top three places last year and five of the top seven although four Europeans made it into the top 10.
Kevin Streelman, who finished runner-up last year, said of the course that week: “It ebbs and flows through some beautiful terrain here, a little up and down. And the fairways, if you're in the fairways, you have some chances to attack, but if you're not, you've got to play a little conservative.
“The par 5s are gettable. It's a good balance of good par 3s and it's a fun course to play.”
Angles to consider
1/ Strokes Gained: Tee To Green
It’s easy to think of these events as putting contests but last year the top four ranked 1st, 2nd, 6th and 4th in SG: Tee To Green. All four winners at Eagle Trace have ranked in the top six for TTG. By contrast, Herman was the only winner in the top 18 for SG: Putting
2/ Par 5 Scoring
Streelman’s view that the Par 5s are “gettable” certainly carried resonance last year with all the high finishers scoring well on the long holes. Mark Hubbard led that category after playing them in 15-under and finished the tournament in third.
3/ Record in birdie fests
Detroit Golf Club (Rocket Mortgage Classic) and TPC Deere Run (John Deere Classic) have some similarities to this week’s course and past form correlates well. That makes sense given that they’re all tracks where the birdie count has to be high.
Selections
The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected.
Peter Kuest
Kuest has popped up on leaderboards in recent weeks and that bodes well here. The Californian was tied fourth in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and tied 17th in the John Deere Classic. He ranked 6th and 22nd respectively for SG: Tee To Green. He hasn’t played enough events to show up on the Par 5 Scoring charts but his average of 4.42 would currently place him in tied second. Expect the big hitter to make hay.
Marcus Helligkilde
The Dane was left to rue an opening 74 in his home Made in HimmerLand tournament last week. Three 67s after that were impressive but could only lift him to tied 35th. He ranked 16th for SG: Tee To Green there and now returns to a course where he finished tied eighth last year after a pair of closing 66s. He played the Par 5s that year in double digits under par.
Lucas Glover
Glover is probably the form horse in the field and has been making birdies galore in finishing fourth at Detroit GC and sixth at TPC Deere Run in the last fortnight. His Tee To Green numbers are strong and a big performance looks likely on his course debut. His last win came in a relevant birdie fest - the 2021 John Deere.
Tips 1-2; +1.80pts
1.1pts e.w. Peter Kuest at 25/1 (Boylesports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc
0.6pts e.w. Marcus Helligkilde at 55/1 (bet365 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc
1.3pts e.w. Lucas Glover at 20/1 (Boylesports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) 5th
