CJ Cup 2022: Course and current form stats

• 15 of world's top 20 teeing-up
• Congaree built to play firm and fast
• Rahm to claim first win on US soil for over a year

The Tom Fazio-designed Championship Course at Congaree Golf Club returns to the PGA Tour schedule, just 16 months after making its professional debut.

In June 2021, Congaree made an 11th hour guest appearance on the Tour calendar after the Canadian Open was cancelled at short notice.

Canada's national open had been called off for a second straight year because of travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

Located deep in rural South Carolina, and approximately 70 miles west of the state's biggest city Charleston, Congaree staged the Palmetto Championship which was won by young South African Garrick Higgo.

Course Characteristics

Designed by Tom Fazio and opened four years ago, Congaree was named the 'Best New Private Course of 2018' by American magazine Golf Digest.

A year later it was presented with an even more prestigious gong, for being selected as the 'Best Golf Course Built during the Decade' (2010-19).

Congaree applied to host the 2026 Presidents Cup match but its pitch failed to earn enough votes and the four-day contest was awarded to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

Fazio's Championship layout is carved out of a huge forest on low-lying wetlands, while sandy waste areas border many of the holes.

Putting surfaces are sown with Bermuda grass, which is not unsurprising for a course in America's Deep South.

According to Fazio, the course was built to play firm and fast, similar to those sandbelt venues in Melbourne, Australia.

Even though water officially affects 10 holes at Congaree, top level pros should only be concerned about five of them.

The fairways are wide, allowing players to drive it long, although greater precision will be demanded on approach shots.

For those who fail to locate the putting surfaces in regulation, a good scrambling game will be required to cope with the many tricky run-off areas that surround a number of Congaree's elevated greens.

Latest betting for this week's CJ Cup

PGA Tour Consistency Chart

Most Times Within Eight Shots Of Winner (Last Six Months)
Total
8: Sung Jae Im
7: Tom Hoge
7: Max Homa
7: Rory McIlroy
7: Jordan Spieth
7: Sahith Theegala
6: Joo Hyung Kim
6: JT Poston
6: Justin Thomas
6: Aaron Wise
Only those entered this week are included in table.
Refers to PGA Tour events only, since April 17th, 2022.

Four To Watch

Tom Hoge: Enjoying a strong run of form and will tee-up in the Deep South chasing a second PGA Tour title of 2022. Currently a career-high No 34 in the world. But in a field containing 15 of the world's top 20, he may offer greater value each-way, rather than as an outright winner.

Sung Jae Im: The 24-year-old Korean has cemented his place among the world's elite, thanks to some excellent performances during the past two and a half years. Along with his brace of PGA Tour titles, there has been a total of 11 podium finishes.

Rory McIlroy: Has probably been the world's best player over the past six months, but without adding to his tally of four major titles. In his last 14 starts, there has been two victories, nine top-five finishes and has just once been outside the top 20.

Jon Rahm: The world No 5 has experienced a low-key year on American soil during 2022, but did return to Europe recently when he tied-for-second at Wentworth, and won the Spanish Open by six shots.

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MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves