Corales Puntacana Championship tips: Nikolai Hojgaard to convert Masters form into first Tour win

Corales Puntacana Championship key stats:

• When: April 18-21 2024
• Where: Corales Golf Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 
• How long: 7,670 yards - par 72
• What to expect: Coastal, sometimes cliffside terrain, culminating in notorious Devil’s Elbow final three holes
• Who won last year: Matt Wallace (-19) 

Bearing in mind that 70 of the world’s best players are otherwise engaged in South Carolina, then the stage is set for a broad swathe of this field to hold high hopes of making their mark here.

Standing out like a sore thumb is Nikolai Hojgaard, who was rubbing shoulders with the big boys around Augusta National a week ago and is therefore an unsurprising market leader here.

Indeed, for a long while last weekend he was right in the mix, and at one stage on Saturday was actually on top of the Masters leaderboard at seven under par, only for the enormity of that fact to seemingly affect his game, and five straight bogies sent him sliding back into the pack.

Nonetheless, the young Dane can be proud of his eventual 16th place at his first Masters, especially as his first season on the PGA circuit has not been an easy one since he hit the ground running with a runner-up debut behind Matthieu Pavon at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

Such is the standard at this alternate PGA tournament, that anything approaching the level that Hojgaard reached last week should hold him in good stead here, with the only caveat being that his motivation may have peaked a week ago. 

That said, he appears to be generously priced at 14/1 and looks good each-way value if he can keep his game and mindset at last week’s level.

Suggested bet: Nikolai Hojgaard (14/1) each-way in the Puntacana Championship

Although Europe is well represented at the top of the market, it’s worth noting that Americans have won this event six times out of eight, and that has to bring a player like Ben Martin into the equation.

Hailing from South Carolina (ironically where the RBC Heritage is being played at the same time), Martin has appeared to save his best for his annual trip to the Dominican Republic in recent years, notching up back-to-back-to-back top-ten finishes over the last three visits.

Tied for ninth in 2021 and eighth last year, his best performance was sandwiched in between, when he finished within one shot of the 2022 winner Chad Ramey after having led going into the final day.
Martin’s only PGA success came almost a decade ago in the 2014 Shriners’ Hospitals for Children Open, and this might be the perfect time for him to double his tally.

He arrives in good shape on the back of a season-best showing at the Valero Texas Open, where he was good value for his seventh place, albeit a long way behind runaway leaders Akshay Bhatia and Denny McCarthy.

His three top-ten finishes indicate that his game is clearly tailored to the demands of the Corales course, and at 33/1 he looks great value to put himself in the mix again in this weaker field.

Suggested bet: Ben Martin (33/1) each-way in the Puntacana Championship

Outsiders to watch:

• Chad Ramey (50/1) - More missed cuts than weekends this season, but was 17th at the Houston Open, and could be ready to reproduce the form that won him this tournament two years ago
• Matti Schmid (50/1) - Cutting his teeth on the US circuit, he has been making cuts recently and his 10th place in the Puerto Rico Open showed he can compete when the big names are absent
• Garrick Higgo (50/1) - Has made his last six cuts without ever being in contention, but this weaker field could allow him to showcase his ability higher up the leaderboard
• Carl Yuan (55/1) - Fourth at the Sony Open and fifth at the Valspar, this could be a good chance for his undoubted talent to replicate that form rather than the missed cuts in between
• Francesco Molinari (100/1) - It’s hard to know what’s gone wrong for the 2018 Open Champion, and this pick might be more in hope than expectation that the former Ryder Cup star can rediscover this mojo in this company