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The CJ Cup was originally billed and played as South Korea’s first PGA Tour tournament. Played at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, the first three winners were elite Americans as Justin Thomas won in 2017 and 2019 while Brooks Koepka took the title in 2018. But the pandemic caused the fourth edition to be switched to US shores in 2020, the event following on from the Shriners to give players the option of back-to-back weeks in Las Vegas. Jason Kokrak won that shootout at Shadow Creek but this year another Vegas course steps in – the Tom Fazio designed Summit Club. Collin Morikawa is a member there and has this to say about the 7,431-yard par 72. He said: “Summit's obviously a beautiful course. I think there's going to be quite a few birdies out here, but there's nothing wrong with that and hopefully we can make a few more than everyone else “You're going to see guys hitting certain shots that might land near the pins and roll off. It might not roll off down funnels and kind of bowls off the green, but it's going to roll pretty far away. “You might be seeing a lot of 50-footers, 40-footers, so you're going to see some approach shots that's really going to test that to put it in the right spot. “You're going to see a lot of attacking on the par 5s, you're going to see a lot of eagles this week and that's what's exciting, that's what makes TV and the fans excited to see a lot of us go for par 5s and make some 3s.” Justin Thomas added: “It's all pretty right in front of you and it's not too much tricked up or hidden and I would think the scores would be pretty low this week.” Angles to consider 1/ Vegas/Nevada form Vegas is set at altitude and with no previous tournaments played at this course, an aptitude for playing good golf in the city/region could be important. 2/ Par Breakers Both Morikawa and Thomas suggest scoring will be low. The former mentions eagles so we’ll look at Par Breakers (birdies and eagles) rather than just Birdie Average. 3/ Strokes Gained: Around The Green Morikawa suggests even well-hit irons could ping off the green so a hot short game could be a key weapon at The Summit. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Cameron Smith The Aussie has played four times in Nevada, cracking the top 25 each time and making the top 13 in three of them. Last season he finished 3rd for Par Breakers and 25th for Strokes Gained: Around The Green so he ticks all the boxes. This is his first start since the Tour Championship but he finished the last campaign off with three top 10s in five starts. Tony Finau This is Finau’s first start since being part of the triumphant US Ryder Cup team and he looks to have the right credentials to get heavily involved. The American was ninth at the Shriners on his last Vegas start (2019) while he ranked 20th for both Par Breakers and SG: Around The Green last season. Harris English English missed the cut last week (71-69) but he was T10 in last year’s CJ Cup at nearby Shadow Creek and also has a previous fourth at TPC Summerlin. He’s a good stats fit too after ranking 12th in Par Breakers and 31st Around The Green last season. Tips 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Cameron Smith at 28/1 (Boylesports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) 9th 1pt e.w. Tony Finau at 28/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7) 45th 1pt e.w. Harris English at 35/1 (Boylesports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) wd
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