Andrew's OccuNet Classic (KFT) Preview

The BMW Charity Pro-Am wrapped up last week with a comfortable win for Ben Kohles, his fifth at this level. He’s a player we’ve backed this year and it was far from an unexpected success; he goes well on these straightforward courses but has thus far failed to kick on at the PGA level. He looks likely to have another chance in 2027 and we’ll see if he can build on this. Of our selections, Cristobal del Solar stood out at a huge price but unfortunately finished a shot outside the places at 175/1. He, like many others in this field, then went through 36-holes of U.S. Open qualifying. There’s a decision to be taken on how you view participation – my preference is for players who took part and went well, regardless of the impact of disappointment and tiredness. Competitive reps are always worth considering. Let’s get into it.

The Tournament

After a very familiar week in South Carolina, we’re heading to an entirely new course. The players take on the Paloma course at Tascosa Golf Club. That puts us in Amarillo, up in the north of Texas where it’ll be hot and pretty windy, exactly as you’d expect. Will there be a draw bias? Possibly. However, I have no idea which way it’ll be and I’m not going to wait to check. The possibility of the wind dying at some point on Thursday and the possibility of a rain delay on Friday make it impossible to tell. However, I am looking for players who are effective in the wind.

There isn’t much more information about the course. It isn’t highly ranked so there are relatively few reviews available from reputable sources. I think the most useful resource I’ve found is this summary of the course that shows that it is a relatively straight, undulating par 70. It is officially listed at 7,091 yards and has some long par-fours. Note that the reference I shared shows the 11^th as a par-five whereas the pros will play it as a challenging par-four.

The course designer is Robert von Hagge, who most notably was the co-designer of Le Golf National. Cutting his teeth in Florida, he’s a big believer in artificially creating elevation changes – something not needed here – and making the game tough through challenging lies and varied approach shots. I’ve borrowed this quote from his page on top 100, which is worth reading in full:

Quality of the property is No. 1. If you have a flat piece of land, like you often do in South Texas or Florida, the project is going to take a 100% creative effort because there is no vertical expression to begin with. The great golf courses of the world are all uniquely beautiful. You can’t find a great golf course anywhere in the world that is rated high in all categories across the board that is not simultaneously beautiful. The challenge is enhancing beauty where it exists and creating it where it doesn’t. The goal is beauty. I want to create a course that is stunningly beautiful.

From the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like he’s got his way here. What that means for the gambler is that, as well as playing well in the wind, we need players who are strong from tee-to-green with plenty of challenging and long par fours and unpleasant flora in the native areas (and for all I know, unpleasant fauna too, but let’s hope not.) I’d certainly like to see players with form in Texas, as well as at elevation or in the wind. It is impossible to tell how tough this challenge will be but given conditions it is hard to see it being a typical KFT birdie-fest. I’m intrigued by how this will play out.

From a field perspective, Blades Brown heads the market and the Data Golf rankings, and he’s joined by all of the top ten from the KFT points list but for Cooper Dossey (eighth.) It is also worth noting that, with the PGA Tour-U wrapped up, this the first week that the newly qualified players enter the field. That’s a group of particular note for this event given that five of the six leading players attended college in Texas or just over the border in Oklahoma. 

The Selections

I’m kicking things off with an old friend of this blog, despite his not having won for us yet.  Sandy Scott remains, in my view, one of the best players on this tour and is held back by the typically easy courses. As a son of Nairn in coastal Scotland, he’ll be comfortable with this links-esque setup, and more importantly he went to Texas Tech and is still based in Lubbock, so this ought to feel like home. The great concern is him pulling out after one round (he was level par) at last week’s event, particularly given his history of wrist injuries, but if we assume he’s fully recovered from whatever that was he has local form, recent form and class to spare and I wouldn’t want to go into this week without him on my side.

Secondly, I am taking one of the PGA Tour-U graduates, big Tommy Morrison. The Dallas native will have plenty of fans as he begins his professional career in a home-state event, and whilst we’re a long way from Austin and even further from Dallas, the former Longhorn has been marked for stardom for a long time now and to my eyes is a more alluring all-round prospect than his higher ranked teammates Luke Potter and Christiaan Maas, at least for this event. He’s a Walker Cup winner and a powerful ball striker who has also enjoyed success on his few links experiences, reaching the quarterfinals twice and the last 32 a third time from three visits. He can match Adrien Dumont de Chassart in winning on KFT professional debut.

My third and final pick is another graduate of another Texas university, in this case Noah Goodwin of SMU. Still young, Goodwin is one of the many talented players who got to the PGA Tour a little too soon, and last year was a bit of a struggle. Playing across both Tours this season he’s been solid rather than spectacular, but this will suit him nicely. He’s an accurate driver, a good iron player and a great scrambler, and that will work here. We know he plays nicely in this region given his success at college (winning the NCAA Sectional at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as well as the Maridoe Invitational in Texas, among other victories. As a professional he’s gone well on tracks with wind (Bermuda,) and in this part of the world (the Compliance in Oklahoma.) His price reflects a couple of weak results on the PGA Tour rather than a drop in form and he’s more than good enough to grab a first KFT win this week.

• Sandy Scott, 50/1, 1pt e/w, ¼ odds 5 places, Bet365

• Tommy Morrison, 66/1, 1pt e/w, 1/5 odds 6 places, Boylesports

• Noah Goodwin, 125/1, 1pt e/w, 1/5 odds 6 places, Boylesports