2020 CJ Cup: Top 10 power rankings at Shadow Creek

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CJ Cup moves from its usual location in South Korea to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

The CJ Cup is back for its fourth annual edition. This one is going to look a little different.

Instead of Nine Bridges in Jeju Island, South Korea, the PGA Tour is in the U.S. at Shadow Creek for the CJ Cup due to the pandemic. The North Las Vegas course is the baby of hotelier Steve Wynn. It’s known for hosting The Match in 2018 between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

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Shadow Creek was designed in 1989 by Tom Fazio. It underwent a $17 million renovation in 2008 that extended the course to 7,560 yards (at 2,000 feet elevation), made it more difficult and added a short game facility.

It’s a course that seems to not mesh well with classical golf architecture minds, but it does have some interesting, modern characteristics. It’s not a Fazio design without a waterfall, right?

The field of 78 (but no galleries) will have cool views of the Nevada mountainside.

Man-made water hazards and some tough bunkers add challenge to a course that doesn’t expect to have gnarly rough.

Premier ball striking appears to be the ticket to winning here like on so many PGA Tour venues.

The fairways are Bermuda grass and greens are bent. The greens are fairly undulating, so precision with irons are key to getting makeable birdie looks.

There is no 36-hole cut in this free money and FedEx Cup point bonanza.

The weather forecast looks fairly benign. Light wind, no rain, little to no cloud cover and temperatures between the 60s-90s. I’m happy to be proven wrong, but I think scores will be pretty low this week.

Without course history to work off of, I’m rolling with players who have played well in the last several weeks. It’s been a good time for the big names to recharge their batteries. They’ve either had three weeks off since the U.S. Open or took two weeks off before last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which was also in Vegas.

It’s worth noting this is Brooks Koepka’s first event since mid August due to a knee injury. I couldn’t pull the trigger to put him in my top 10, but it’s a good sign that BK’s back in action already. I was unsure if he’d play at all before Augusta.

These rankings were updated Tuesday to reflect the withdrawal of Dustin Johnson due to a positive COVID-19 test.

We’re inching closer and closer to the unicorn that is a November Masters. More international players are making their way to the U.S. Let’s dig into the top 10 in what should be an entertaining appetizer:

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