Andrew's Compliance Solutions Championship (KFT) Preview

A week after the Korn Ferry Tour took a break, leaving us with nothing to watch apart from a low-purse exhibition on the PGA Tour it is great to have the most competitive Tour in golf back for our gambling pleasure.*

As a reminder, for this penultimate event 120 players should be taking part. Owing to an error in declaring a player eligible, a 121st has been added, but the field will again shrink to 75 for the final, no-cut event. As well as getting entry into French Lick, the top 75 are guaranteed a KFT card for next year, which is not subject to reshuffle (the players 76-120 have cards for next year, but they can lose them through reshuffles.) Most importantly, they are still fighting for Tour cards. Twenty are available and the top five are now guaranteed (Johnny Keefer, Neal Shipley, Hank Lebioda, Austin Smotherman and Emilio Gonzalez) and I would say that the top ten are all but guaranteed. Any lower and you probably want a few more points for comfort.

So with lots on the line and a new course to investigate, let's get into it.

The Tournament

We're back in Oklahoma for this Compliance Solutions Championship. The first two iterations were held in Norman at the Jimmie Austin OU Club and were won by Jimmy Stanger and John Pak. That was a longish and straightforward course (scores of -23 and -22 won) and probably isn't all that indicative as there's been a big change. We've gone 150 miles or so up the road to Owasso, which is basically Tulsa if your US geography is as sketchy as mile, to the Patriot Golf Club.This is a newish (2010) Robert Trent Jones Jr. course and it is the first time it has hosted an event of this significance. So, for the last time this year, I'm having to dig deep to figure out what on earth is going to happen on this track.

The name speaks to a lot of stuff that surrounds the course - holes named for Presidents, one of the largest flags in the world, and the Folds of Honor Foundation right next door. All of which is entirely laudable but somewhat irrelevant to finding the winner of the tournament, and yet takes up a lot of the reviewing space. What we do know about the course is that it is a 7,120 yard par-71 and the architects have worked to use the natural features as much as possible. Since one of those features is a bloody great cliff, that's interesting (I paraphrase, but not much - the par-5, 560 yard first features a 160 foot drop straight off the tee box, and there's something similar on the par 4, 474 yard 14th.) Much is also made of the range of landscapes - marshes, trees, prairies, etc.

Here's the thing. I don't know how much difference that'll make. Reading between the lines, this is a well-maintained (and therefore predictable) course that isn't long enough to challenge these guys, and is primarily set up for recreational players. RTJJ courses tend to be typical of modern design - gentle undulations on fairways and greens, strategic shot options, lots of bunkering. He cites A.W. Tillinghaust as an influence and maybe it is recency bias, but I can see this course as an easier, Oklahoman, Bethpage. On this Tour, he's also the designer/design team leader behind Highland Springs (Price Cutter Championship) and PGA Riviera Maya (Tulum Championship) whilst if you follow tours around the world you'll know Wild Coast (from the Sunshine,) Firestone (from everything, but these days the Champions Tour) and the Scandinavian (from the DPWT.)

Why so much about the architect? Well, this isn't a test that stands out in many respects. There's little or no course knowledge, and it isn't unusually long, short, classical, open, watery... anything. It is a fairly typical challenge. So I'm looking for recent form, of course. I'm quite keen on players who have something to play for. With typically straightforward greens I'm focusing on tee-to-green prowess. But I'm certainly focusing on guys who've gone well on comparative courses. For me, that means players who enjoy the unique challenges of a Trent Jones course. You can expect some wind but less than is often the case in this part of the world, and I doubt it'll be a factor. Unsurprisingly hot and dry.

The Selections

On that basis, you probably won't be surprised that my first and most confident pick is Chandler Blanchet. He arrives in decent form (fourth last time) and will guarantee a card with a good performance here, as he's currently ranked seventh. He ranks third on tour for greens in regulation and fifth for scoring average. So he's a solid play anywhere. But he's got an affinity with this architect, make no mistake. Blanchet has won four times, two small events on the PGA Tour Latino America, plus their season-ending championship in 2023, and the Price Cutter Championship this year. The PGA LA Champs in 2023? PGA Riviera Maya - where he was 12th this year before he won at Highland Springs. His biggest wins have always been on RTJJ courses - and I think his biggest yet adds to that affinity.

I've been joking that I need to go into some kind of rehab for my addiction to Adrien Dumont de Chassart but it won't be this week. He's got a lot to play for as he currently sits 26th and it is hard to believe he isn't one of the 20 best players on the Tour. Next year will certainly be more entertaining if he gets a card. With 18th at the Tulum and fifth at the Price Cutter he likes this sort of course, and that ignores the most useful data point: he was third in the Butterfield Bermuda on the big tour, at RTTJ's Port Royal. If you think that's nerdy, wait until I tell you that his best college result was winning the 2019 Big Ten Championship at Philly Cricket, which is of course a Tillinghaust course. Okay, I'll stop.

I found my third pick harder, and considered stopping at two. I also thought about Sudarshan Yellamaraju (recent form too weak), Thomas Walsh (ditto) or Sandy Scott (terrible record on Jones Jr courses.) In the end, I didn't want to leave out Seung-taek (S.T.) Lee. Having played the bulk of his golf on the Korean Tour and Asian Tour, it is hard to really gauge his affinity for this but he was third in the Tulum and withdrew after the first round of the Price Cutter (he shot 70, which put him around the cutline, so it wasn't dreadful.) Statistically, he's a greens in regulation machine (18th) who scrambles well (17th) and is good from the tee (15th in total driving.) That's ideal - and throw in decent putting (49th) and it is easy to see why he's very quietly made his way to 16th in the rankings. This would be a surprising victory for many but he's got the game to do it.

NB - As I write this, ST Lee is not listed with all bookies though he remains in every official list of starters I can see. Check your bookies void bets for non-starters (they should) before placing any wagers. If he doesn't go, I won't have a third pick.

• Chandler Blanchet, 22/1, 2pts win only, Bet365

• Adrien Dumont de Chassart, 40/1, 1pt e/w, 1/4 odds 5 places, Bet365

• Seung-taek (S.T.) Lee, 60/1, 1pt e/w, 1/4 odds 5 places, Bet365

*That was, of course, a joke. The Ryder Cup was amazing. But this is the most competitive Tour in the world and that won't change in a hurry.