CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges: Power ranking the top 10 at Jeju Island

The PGA Tour’s foray into Asia continues this week with the second edition of the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges.

We’re now in week three of the PGA Tour schedule in what is still occasionally referred to as the silly season. This week’s CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges is in its second edition held in Jeju Island, South Korea.

It’s a no-cut event with a 78-player field. A good chunk of last week’s field at another no-cut event, the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, has continued their stay in Asia.

All things it’s considered, it’s a good field with a 2018 major champion, a handful of Ryder Cup participants and last week’s winner, Marc Leishman. It’s a great week to grow the game in other parts of the world, but these cash grab events tend to lack drama. And of course when they do get intense like last year, inevitably the television feed cuts out during the Leishman-Justin Thomas playoff.

I stayed up until 3 a.m. for that!

Anyway, Nine Bridges is a 7,196-yard par-72 featuring bentgrass from tee to green. The greens are generally receptive but last year’s blustery conditions made ball striking difficult at times.

At 3,500 feet above sea level the course plays short but it is countered by well-protected greens and water. The fairways are relatively wide. Winds were steady between 10-20 miles per hour last year but it should peak around 10 this year. Temperatures in the 60s and dry weather ought to make this a pleasant week.

Shotlink stats are not recorded in these Asian Swing events, so we don’t have in-depth stats from last year. Using season stats, shots gained off the tee and par-5 scoring are a couple I like.

Guys who played this event last year could also have an upper hand.

Save for a handful of exempted players, almost anyone could jump up and win this week even from the alternate list. Nonetheless, I’ve found a way to whittle it down to my 10 favorites. Here we go.