Puerto Rico Open 2021: Your form guide for Coco Beach

With the elite of world golf descending on Florida for four straight tournaments in the Sunshine State, the best of the rest have headed to Rio Grande for this week's Puerto Rico Open.

First staged in 2008, all 12 previous editions have been hosted by Coco Beach which has undergone a number of name changes along the way.

Designed by Tom Kite and opened 17 years ago, Coco Beach is a low-lying coastal course situated in the north-east of the island, approximately 15 miles from the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan.

Water comes into play on around two-thirds of the holes, with wind usually a constant factor throughout the round.

On the tee

With most of golf's big stars teeing-up in Bradenton, there are just five members of the world's top 80 taking part at Coco Beach.

With regards to world rankings, Brits Matt Wallace and Ian Poulter lead the way. Yet it may be another Englishman, Tom Lewis, who stands a better chance this coming week.

The 30-year-old from Hertfordshire, who now resides in Florida, has been a constant member of the world's top 100 for the past couple of years.

At Pebble Beach two weeks ago, Lewis finished in a creditable tie-for-14th and this trip to Puerto Rico will provide him with a great opportunity to claim a maiden PGA Tour title.

Lewis, a two-time champ on the European Tour, has already tasted victory on US soil by winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2019.

Good course history

In-form players are in short supply, but two golfers with decent records at Coco Beach are Emiliano Grillo and Scott Brown.

Grillo has stood on the podium twice, while Brown is a former winner with four other top-10s in the bank.

Trying to make his way back onto the PGA Tour - as well as into the world's top 100 - is 27-year-old Texan Ollie Schniederjans.

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Schniederjans has stood on a PGA Tour podium four times, albeit without a win, but the former No 77 and ex-world No 1 amateur has too much ability to remain in the shadows for long.

Another player who has fallen through the cracks in recent times is Branden Grace, although the South African's results have shown some encouraging signs over the past few months.

The former world No 10 - who tied-for-20th in Los Angeles on Sunday - will fancy his chances in this much-weaker field.

Note: There was no event in 2018 due to the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Maria which struck the region in September of the previous year.

Coco Beach was formally known as Trump International and is now referred to as Grand Reserve Country Club.

Course Comparisons (1.1.2016 - 31.12.2020)

Driving Accuracy (%)
73.88: Sea Island (RSM Classic) (1/29)
64.90: Coco Beach (Puerto Rico Open) (8/29)
52.24: Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance) (29/29)

Greens in Regulation (%)
75.98: Sedgefield (Wyndham) (1/29)
70.35: Coco Beach (Puerto Rico Open) (9/29)
58.99: Innisbrook (Valspar) (29/29)

Putting (GiR)
1.664: PGA West (host) (American Express) (1/29)
1.765: Coco Beach (Puerto Rico Open) (21/29)
2.668: Augusta National (Masters) (29/29)

Key: Above stats are for all 29 courses which staged four or more PGA Tour events between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2020. To qualify for a ranking (between 1 & 29), tournaments must have a minimum of 50 players competing over the final two rounds of the event. Averages do not include players who failed to complete at least 54 holes.

Coco Beach Data (2016-20)
DA: (T10 - 67.24%); (Cat10 - 77.93%)
GiR: (T10 - 74.35%); (Cat10 - 79.16%)
Putts: (T10 - 1.698); (Cat10 - 1.638)
Key: T10 (Average for Top-10 finishers); Cat10 (Average for Top-10 in Category)

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Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves