Andrew's Club Car Championship (KFT) Preview

Coming off a weather-delayed and under-reported week in India on the HPT last week, it will be something of a pleasure to come back to a Korn Ferry event with a known field, certainty that the event will go ahead, and Monday odds. We should wrap up last week’s event by firstly apologizing for two picks that never really threatened, though both made the cut, and secondly by acknowledging the second win of the season for MJ Daffue who now leads the Road to Majorca standings. Daffue is demonstrating the gulf in class between the HPT and the KFT (certainly this year) having struggled in the US previously. One more win and he’ll get a battlefield promotion to the DPWT. 

It is worth noting that he won’t get that chance in the Middle East in April, as those events have been postponed to the last week of September and the first week of October. We won’t see the HPT again until the Italian Challenge which starts on the 7^th May, after which we’ll have 24 events in 26 weeks leading into the Grand Final at the end of October. For those who want a schedule covering the main tours, feeder tours, and some of my other favourite events (but excluding events that I have decided I don’t like, such as the Zurich Challenge) you’ll find one here. Finally, I wanted to shout out Jhared Hack. I linked to his story in my preview last week and he grabbed second place. I’m hoping he’ll parlay that into a few starts on the HPT over the coming events and perhaps take a step back up in class. Let’s head to where Jhared is aiming, back the US for this week’s event.

The Tournament

Yes, folks, the Korn Ferry Tour is back in the USA, where it will stay for all but one of the remaining events (the Tulum Championship in April sees us in Mexico.) Twenty-of-the-26 events remain and this is the start of the real season for many. The good news is that we have established and fairly predictable fields, the coverage will be as good as it gets for this feeder tour, and the conditions and support for the players will be excellent. The bad news is that, as I continue to bemoan, the courses are pretty uninspiring.

All of that applies this week. We’re in Savannah, Georgia at The Landings (Deer Creek course) and the Club Car Championship. As well as hosting this event since 2018, this is a regular host of a second stage Q-school event and as such I’ve written about it three times, for the 2025 Club Car, and the 2024 and 2025 Q-school events. So I don’t have too much to add. Skidway Island, where this course is to be found, is full of golf courses and both the area and Deer Creek have a lot of Hilton Head about them. This is a shortish course where accuracy on approach is tested severely and so is quality of putting. I’ve noted previously that despite the power that previous champions like Sam Burns and Steven Fisk can bring, this is not a bomber’s course. In 2025 we saw Jeremy Gandon win from Rick Lamb and Russel Knox, confirming this once again – though the presence of Garrick Higgo in T3 also reinforced the point that length can help, especially on the scoreable par-5's.

Really, though, we’re looking for course knowledge, ideally, and certainly for accuracy, putting ability and some scrambling skill. There’s nothing much to worry about in the weather forecast and as such I expect scoring to be pretty low. With Frankie Capan returning to the field, and at the hugely appealing price of 100/1, that focus on accuracy is frustrating. I was very tempted to pick him but I prize course suitability over everything, so I’ll hope he underperforms and we can pick him at a similar number in the future. Similarly, Blades Brown has been so hugely impressive on the PGA Tour that it is hard to ignore him, but here the price is wrong and his KFT performances have underwhelmed, so I’ll once again wait for another day. Weaknesses in short game (and course record) were enough to put me off Ben Kohles, another strong fancy in general terms, if not specifically for this week, whilst S.Y. Noh has also looked ineffective here in a number of starts.

The Selections

First on my list is local boy Greyson Sigg. He hasn’t played this event since it was held in October 2020, when he was 15^th. That’s because he’s spent most of the intervening years on the PGA Tour, where he did pick up a top ten and two more top 25s in the RSM Classic, also held in the Georgia islands. As an Augusta-born former Bulldog, this affinity with this sort of golf is hardly surprising. Moreover, he’s built for it – accurate from tee-to-green and with a great scrambling game. I would be delighted if he putted more consistently, or if he’d had a start since January, but those things are baked into the price and I think he can surprise the bookies with a swift return to form. He’s one of a few PGA-quality players in this field.

I’ve looked long and hard at a few Canadians here, and though I was tempted by Adam Hadwin his record in these parts, and a genuinely poor performance in the (much tougher) Valspar last week took him out of contention. However, I couldn’t be put off Ben Silverman, another veteran who has spent most of his career on the bigger tour. Despite the Canadian representation, Silverman went to college in Florida and still lives there, and it is in the south east that he’s played the majority of his best golf. Conditions here will suit, and it is no surprise that he can boast a top twenty in this event and a top ten in the RSM. He comes here in solid form with a 16^th in Puerto Rico last time. Short but accurate and highly experienced, his game is suited to more than just the geography of this challenge.

Finally, I am taking another Florida resident in Nick Gabrelcik, who last year finished sixth here and who is playing better golf in his second season as a professional (he graduated from University of North Florida, just over the Georgia border.) He was 15^th on his last start in Chile and, as a player I’ve been trying to get into my squad as often as possible, had to be picked here in an event close to home where he’s proven to be highly effective.

• Greyson Sigg, 45/1

• Ben Silverman, 40/1

• Nick Gabrelcik, 60/1

All 1pt e/w, ¼ odds 5 places, Bet365.  Better odds may come available as other markets open.