For those not gracing the Royal Birkdale fairways this week, there is an alternate event to take in over in the Dominican Republic where the Corales Puntacana Championship is up for grabs.
The first two runnings in 2016 and 2017 were on the Web.com Tour before the tournament was awarded PGA Tour status in 2018, with a different winner having been crowned every year since.
This year's edition will be the first time it has been co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour and there is a good mix of players from the US and European circuits ready to battle it out for glory.
Corales Puntacana Championship First-Round Leader Tips Summary
Best Bet - Stephan Jaeger each-way @ 35/1
Alternative Bet - Chan Kim each-way @ 55/1
Alternative Bet - Ben Martin each-way @ 70/1
Corales Puntacana Championship First-Round Leader Prediction
Best Bet: Stephan Jaeger each-way @ 35/1
Stephan Jaeger heads to the Caribbean in solid form, having recorded successive top-15 finishes at the John Deere Classic and ISCO Championship, and he could be set for another strong outing.
The 37-year-old German was tied third after 18 holes of the John Deere, just one shot off the pace, while he shared the first-round lead at the ISCO Championship.
Jaeger was also in a share of the PGA Championship lead after day one in May and he was sitting in tied fourth at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson after day one of that event.
The world number 98, who is 24th in round one scoring average on the PGA Tour, led the way after 18 holes of the 2021 Puntacana Championship while he was just one stroke behind the leaders after day one in 2016.
Alternative Bet: Chan Kim each-way @ 55/1
Chan Kim impressed on his Puntacana debut in 2024, opening up with a round of 66 to sit tied second before going on to finish sixth, before he managed another top-10 finish the following year when ending up in a share of seventh place.
The 36-year-old has been getting off to some fast starts in recent weeks and he was tied second after the opening 18 holes at the BMW Charity Open and the OccuNet Classic in June.
Kim was also tied fifth after round one of both the Memorial Health Championship and ISCO Championship, sitting just one shot back in the latter tournament.
Maintaining his form over 72 holes is the problem for Kim, who is yet to win at PGA Tour level, but he has no issues in coming out of the blocks quickly and another strong opening is anticipated.
Alternative Bet: Ben Martin each-way @ 70/1
It has been a bleak year for Ben Martin, who has missed 11 cuts in 17 appearances, but there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel when he finished tied 21st at the ISCO Championship on his last start.
The 38-year-old American will have taken a lot of confidence from that performance and he now heads into an event he has performed at well in his six previous trips.
Martin's Puntacana form reads 52-9-2-8-55-9 and he has made a habit of making fast starts at Corales Golf Course.
He was the first-round leader in 2022 and he shared the lead after the opening 18 holes a year later.
Key Tournament Stats
This will be the ninth edition of the Puntacana Championship since it became a PGA Tour event
This year's edition will be a co-sanctioned tournament with the DP World Tour for the first time
Host venue, Corales Golf Course, is a par 72 measuring 7,670 yards
The winning margin in six of the last seven runnings has been one stroke
A score of 66 has been the leading first-round score in three of the last five editions
Joel Dahmen held the lead after the opening 18 holes last year when signing for a 62
Read more golf betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
