Steve Palmer's Corales Puntacana Championship predictions

When to bet

By 11am on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Corales Puntacana Championship predictions

Thomas Detry
3pts each-way 20-1 Hills

Ben Martin
2pts each-way 28-1 general

Akshay Bhatia
1.5pts each-way 33-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

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Wyndham Clark has been playing some great golf and is being shown enormous respect by the laying community for the Corales Puntacana Championship. Clark lost a playoff for the 2020 Bermuda Championship – a similar event to this one – and made a solid Puntacana debut last year. The favourite has an obvious chance but is a short price for somebody who is winless on all the main tours.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Thomas Detry 20-1

The Corales Puntacana Championship may soon become a home game for Thomas Detry, who is looking to purchase a family home in the resort to use as his PGA Tour base, and his comfort in this area is one reason why the Belgian can be fancied for victory.

Detry is a regular visitor to Puntacana, which he describes as paradise, and his form figures in the tournament are 33-33-13-15. This time he tees up in the event as the highest-ranked player in the field.

Detry finished second in the Bermuda Championship earlier this season – a similar assignment – and he did it with JP Fitzgerald alongside him. The experienced bagman is on duty this week and a PGA Tour breakthrough may beckon for Detry.

Next best bet

Ben Martin 28-1

Two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2013 followed by a PGA Tour triumph in 2014 put Ben Martin on the golfing map and he went on to finish fourth in the 2015 Players Championship before injury problems mounted.

Last year he led at Puntacana after rounds one, two and three before missing a short putt on the 18th hole on the Sunday to lose by a shot. Given how bright his recent efforts have been, including 13th place at Pebble Beach and fifth in the Honda Classic, another Corales title tilt seems likely.

Other selection

Akshay Bhatia 33-1

Second place in the Puerto Rico Open earned Akshay Bhatia a PGA Tour card and he can thrive in a similar event this week. His Korn Ferry Tour victory came in The Bahamas and this creative player loves the challenge of a windswept coastal track.

Corales GC course guide

Course Corales Golf Course, Puntacana Resort and Club, Dominican Republic
Prize money $3.8m ($684,000 to the winner)
Length 7,670 yards
Par 72 – four par-fives; ten par-fours; four par-threes
Field 120 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Thomas Detry (82), Wyndham Clark (90), Adam Schenk (91), Joel Dahmen (100), Emiliano Grillo (114)
Course records - 72 holes 264 Dominic Bozzelli (2016) 18 holes 62 Stephan Jaeger (2016), Scott Harrington (2016), Alexandre Rocha (2016)

Course winners taking part Dominic Bozzelli, Brice Garnett, Joel Dahmen, Chad Ramey

When to bet By 11am on Thursday

Time difference Dominican Republic is four hours behind the UK and Ireland

Course type Parkland

Course overview The tournament started as a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2016, getting PGA Tour status in 2018. Wind is the main defence of this Tom Fazio-designed track, which plays along the cliffs beside the Caribbean Sea

Story of last year Chad Ramey claimed a maiden PGA Tour title, edging Ben Martin and Alex Smalley by a shot

Weather forecast Sunny and breezy all week with temperatures around 26C

Type of player suited to the challenge A Puntacana honours board containing Nate Lashley, Brice Garnett, Graeme McDowell and Joel Dahmen underlines that accurate, tidy golf is most effective, especially when it is windy

Key attribute Accuracy