Myrtle Beach Classic
While the top players on the PGA Tour are 175 miles away in Charlotte, the rest of the PGA Tour is in Myrtle Beach for the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, the alternate now termed by the tour as an “additional event.”
There is no clear favorite for this event as Ben Griffin, Daniel Berger and Erik van Rooyen share a 28-1 price tag at the top of the board.
Davis Thompson follows at 33-1. At 35-1 are Beau Hossler, Ryo Hisatsune and Matt Wallace, who finished T-4 last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
The Field
The field of 132 players for the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic is as follows:
Field Updates:
- Norman Xiong W/D
- Maverick McNealy and Vince Whaley OUT; James Hahn and Austin Smotherman IN from the alternate list.
- Ben Kohles and Taylor Pendrith OUT (both qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship); Scott Piercy IN from the alternate list; Taiga Semikawa IN with a top 10 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
- Tyler Duncan and Doug Ghim OUT; Tommy Gainey and Seung-yul Noh IN from the alternate list.
- Monday Open Qualifiers: Brandon Berry, Brian Davis, Braden Thornberry, William McGirt.
- KH Lee and Nick Hardy OUT; Adam Long and Harry Higgs IN.
The Course
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club is a 7,347-yard, par-71 originally designed by Robert Trent Jones dating to 1948 and is one of the oldest courses in the self-proclaimed “Golf Capital of the World” and was the second course built along the “Grand Strand” of Myrtle Beach. This will be the first time that The Dunes has been used for a PGA Tour event, but The Dunes does have some history with the tour having hosted the PGA Tour Champions season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship from 1994 to 1999 and was the host venue for PGA Tour Q-School’s Final Stage in 1973. The Dunes also hosted the 1962 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and numerous collegiate events.
Rees Jones, son of Robert Trent Jones, has had his hand in renovating The Dunes on three occasions in 2003, 2013 and 2018, which has helped restore the greens to their original shape while replacing the old Bentgrass surfaces with Champion Bermuda. The 6,000 average square-foot greens will run at around 11.5-12 on the stimpmeter.
The club is positioned alongside the Atlantic coastline with some exposed holes as well as others that have much more of a parkland feel with tight (20-25-yard landing areas), tree-lined fairways and water, which comes into play on six holes, including Holes 10-13 which is known as “Alligator Alley.”
The par of 71 is formed by three par-5s and four par-3s alongside the regular par-4s. The signature hole is the 625-yard 13th named “Waterloo.”
No. 8 will play as a par-4 (usually a par-5) while last year’s renovation included re-grassing and leveling all championship tees, building new championship tees on Nos. 1, 2, 6, 8 and 14, rebuilding lake edges on Nos. 1, 10 and 18, rebuilding the practice green and building a new chipping green and practice bunker.
This is not a traditional coastal course, though. Although it is just one block from the beach, only the ninth hole provides a look at the Atlantic Ocean.
This course is a bit like a longer version of Harbour Town with narrowish fairways, but players don’t have to club down as much off the tee, so the driver can be used more frequently.
Selections
Justin Lower (45-1, DraftKings)
Lower has finished 28th or better in each of his last five starts, including a T-4 at the last opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic.
He also was third in Mexico earlier this year in a weaker field.
He is fourth in this field for Strokes Gained: Total and sixth for Strokes Gained: Putting over the last 24 rounds.
Matti Schmid (50-1, DraftKings)
Schmid is third in this field for Strokes Gained: Total over the last 24 rounds.
The German played his college golf at the University of Louisville. Louisville, of course, hosts next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla. This will be Schmid’s last chance to get into the PGA.
He finished 10th in Puerto Rico and 11th in the Dominican Republic in the two alternate events earlier this season, so he has proved he can play well when he drops in class.
Taiga Semikawa (50-1, BetMGM)
Semikawa, 23, is a former No. 1-ranked world amateur.
He already has won four times (twice as an amateur) on the Japan Golf Tour.
Last week, he finished T-9 in Dallas at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson earning a spot in this week’s field with a top-10 finish.
Jacob Bridgeman (60-1, DraftKings)
Bridgeman is from Inman, S.C., and played his college golf at Clemson.
The PGA Tour rookie has made six of 11 cuts thus far this season and ranks ninth in this field for Strokes Gained: Total over the last 24 rounds.
Ben Martin (70-1, BetRivers)
Martin is a South Carolinian born and bred. He played his college golf at Clemson and lives in Greenville, S.C.
He ranks fourth in this field for Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 24 rounds.
Kelly Kraft (80-1, BetMGM)
Kraft returned from injury at the Puerto Rico Open in March and missed the cut.
However, he has posted two top-15 finishes since with a T-11 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and a T-13 last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he was second for Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green.
Matchups and placement markets will be available on Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
