A one-week hiatus from looking at 2024 since we sort of have a tournament this week.
-if you missed it, check out last week’s look at the 2024 U.S. Open Venue-
Canceled during the messy pandemic year of 2020, this tourney has been won by Viktor Hovland both the past two years, with strangely enough the exact same runner-up both years as well: Scottie Scheffler. Both men will be back on the course this year, along with 17 other top players and of course the tournament’s host, Tiger Woods.
While not an event that carries FedEx points, you can earn OWGR points and it’s still a million bucks to the winner with a fair-sized purse for such a small field.
We’ll keep it short and sweet and start back in on the 2024 majors next week with a look at the changes we will be seeing at Augusta next April.
Albany Golf Course
The unique par-72, 7,414-yard course has five par-3s and five par-5s. Its eight par-4 holes are the fewest amount on any course on Tour. It is generous off the tee, but there’s plenty of sand and tropical vegetation to gobble up loose tee shots. Including the five par 5s and two drivable par 4s, having power off the tee is definitely an advantage. Last year the course played 2.5 strokes under par. This resort course definitely serves up plenty of birdies as the winning score here has averaged 19-under par.
As is the case with most coastal courses, the strength of the wind is the x-factor. Steady winds from 15 to 30 mph are forecast throughout the weekend. This will most likely affect golfers the most on their approach shots into these tiny greens which measure just 4,500 square feet.
The course features wall-to-wall Bermuda grass and very little rough. Golfers’ short games will be tested with short-grass chipping and collection areas that surround tough green complexes. The surrounding sandy waste areas will also make life difficult for inaccurate players. The small greens along with the wind will cause players to rely on their short-game skills. With the greens being Bermuda, players who have shown putting skill on this surface are preferred. Being an island course, greens will run much slower at around 10.5 on the stimp meter…..
Weather
It’s the Bahamas, weather should be nice. When both the high and low temp for the day sounds pretty good, you know you’re in the right spot.
But like Ron said, this is a coastal course and the wind reports I have below are from a more inland weather station. I would expect some heavy gusting in the afternoons. High clubhead speeds and guys longer off the tee will help cut through the wind and avoid the need for longer irons shots into the breezes.
Betting
Just betting vibes here. These are all the best players in the world, in a bit of a tournament that doesn’t matter a ton to anyone, on a resort course that’s going to give up some filthy low rounds. Trying to solve who’s motivated enough to take advantage and get this done isn’t an easy task.
I will only be placing one bet. He was near the top of the game, especially against stiffer competition, could use a strong showing there, and would not be playing if weren’t healthy. The comeback tour starts early.
Will Zalatoris 35/1
Tweets
Going to be very Tiger-centric this week with him hosting and announcing that he’ll be on the course a bit more next year. I don’t care if he’s dead last in the odds this week, he’s still Tiger.
I was tempted to publish this whole thread, but there’s a LOT, so I picked a few of my favorites and would encourage you to follow Justin if you like golf stats. You can click here for the full thread as well.
As long as we’re doing some looking ahead, may as well look ahead to 2025 as well. Bit of a no-brainer after the job he did in Rome, but Luke Donald will captain the EU Ryder Cup team again at Bethpage Black.
As always, be good, have fun, bet responsibly, and enjoy watching Tiger tee it up.
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