Favourite Rasmus Hojgaard can bag his first PGA Tour title in the Puerto Rico Open, where Ben Coley also has three each-way picks.
- Opposite field dominated by internationals
- Wind in the forecast at Grand Reserve
- Hovland and Finau among past champions
Golf betting tips: Puerto Rico Open
4pts win Rasmus Hojgaard at 14/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
2pts e.w. Matti Schmid at 30/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
2pts e.w. Chad Ramey at 33/1 (bet365, Betfred 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
1pt e.w. Davis Riley at 70/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
The fact that the third Signature Event of the season takes place this week suggests the first 'opposite', the Puerto Rico Open, is well overdue. These are tournaments which provide welcome and necessary opportunities for those looking for the chance to take on Scottie Scheffler and co and it can be done, with recent Riviera champion Jacob Bridgeman having followed this path and Viktor Hovland a past champion here.
What waits those who make the trip is a beefy par 72 which typically plays soft, partly due to the paspalum grass which is by nature receptive. There's not much of it in use on the PGA Tour but what there is often coincides with these weaker fields, such as in the Dominican Republic. It's also found on the DP World Tour in the Middle East, a small factor which could help a few of the recent grads feel more comfortable.
But the number one factor here in Puerto Rico is the wind and this week it looks set to be a steady, significant presence. There's really not much else to the challenge at Grand Reserve, a wide-open resort course, so we shouldn't expect carnage of the kind which coloured the end of the Cognizant Classic. Still, it may not be lights-out and bombs away, which was the case last year, albeit there's rain around too.
Typically, champions here have fallen into one of two categories: high-class debutants who appreciate the easier company, and those with really strong course form. That won't rule out many, but those who've had a few chances without featuring in this can probably be ruled out.
As for where else to look for clues, the Corales Puntacana is so similar that it's easy to confuse the two, but PGA National is almost as comparable and it's fitting that Nico Echavarria underlined this connection when he won on Sunday. There are others like Max McGreevy, Brice Garnett, Ryan Brehm, DA Points and Alex Cejka who have high finishes in what was the Honda, which is often played in a breeze.
We have a 2025 Ryder Cup player at the head of the market and his chance is excellent, so we'll begin with RASMUS HOJGAARD.
He's neither a debutant nor someone who boasts strong course form, but the Dane has only played here once and fared OK a couple of years ago. Since then he's continue to improve and the world number 48 stands out as the class act here, one for whom the wind is a help rather than a hindrance. So far, all five wins have been in mid-level scoring, three of them when combatting wind.
And he does have correlating form. Hojgaard was an excellent sixth in the 2022 Corales Puntacana, defying a slow start with the best golf in the field over the closing 54 holes, while last week he continued his week-to-week progression with ninth place at PGA National, again showcasing his prodigious length, some of the best putting in this field, and dialling in his approach play too.
With form figures of 44-30-24-9 this drop in grade comes at an ideal time and following a raft of withdrawals, he's left with compatriot Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as the primary danger. Runner-up last year and winner of the Australian Open in December, Neergaard-Petersen is a fine player but the head-to-head so far this year reads 3-0 to Hojgaard and he's very much the form pick.
After these two we've Davis Thompson and Michael Brennan, neither of whom can buy a putt, and I'm comfortable opposing Christiaan Bezuidenhout at a big golf course like this. This is Hojgaard's best chance yet to become a PGA Tour champion and at double-figure prices, with so much in his favour, it's one he's worth backing to take.
Any improvement on the greens from Brennan would make him a fascinating candidate and he's probably the player I fear most, but he's been abysmal on the greens so far this year. Thompson is 167th, Brennan 168th, and that's of 177 measured players, with several of those below them based on smaller sample sizes.
It's just a risk I'm not willing to take so we'll move on to MATTI SCHMID, who is a very good golfer in this grade.
The young German has progressed with each start in Puerto Rico, his results reading 33-10-6, and he's been 11th and ninth in his last two appearances in the Dominican Republic. Throw in third place in Bermuda and ninth at PGA National last week and he is about as solid as it gets for a 33/1 shot.
Schmid's approach play had been off in the early weeks of the season but that changed last week too as he ranked 17th, gaining strokes in all departments for a first top 10 since the World Wide Technology Championship. There again we have form which stacks up nicely here and it was yet another demonstration of how dangerous he is in lesser PGA Tour events.
What a week!
— Matti Schmid (@Matt_9977) May 26, 2025
It was a tight finish, but overall a great tournament and a strong battle. Thank you all for the incredible support—it truly means a lot. Eyes forward now as we gear up for the Memorial this week. Let’s keep it going! 💪⛳️#CharlesSchwabChallenge #PGATour pic.twitter.com/8BuGZQBwBe
He almost won a good one last May, finishing runner-up to Ben Griffin right after yet another 'opposite' top 10 in Myrtle Beach, and this looks a fantastic opportunity to bag his first pro win. I feel sure he'd have one already had he played more in Europe, but he's well-established as one of the better PGA Tour maidens now and his turn may not be far away.
Last year, Schmid did little over the first few weeks of the season, improved markedly for a top-20 finish at PGA National, then finished sixth here the following week. He was a bit better in the Cognizant this time and he can be even better here in Puerto Rico, proving himself one of the key dangers to Hojgaard.
So is CHAD RAMEY, who led the field in strokes-gained approach last week.
Plenty has been said about how the Cognizant has been softened up but as far as preparation for Puerto Rico goes, that might actually help make it a more reliably form guide. As such, this is the third of four selections who played really well there.
In doing so, Ramey underlined that he's never prepared better for Puerto Rico. He'd missed four cuts in six before finishing fifth here on debut four years ago, then returning last year had again missed four cuts in six, but again sat close to the lead before a poor final round.
This time he's made five from five, with 22nd in the Farmers the other notable highlight but no disgrace either in making the cut for the first time in four trips to Phoenix, so he looks in an excellent position to challenge for his second PGA Tour title.
The first came at the Corales Puntacana, when the wind blew, so as well as recent form he also has conditions in his favour. He's contended twice in Bermuda, was runner-up to Ben Griffin in the World Wide Technology Championship in November, and must go well here if he can continue to stripe his irons.
Marty Dou and David Ford have been doing exactly that and both are respected, but I'll roll the dice with DAVIS RILEY next.
That's what we did here last year when Riley finished sixth at 150/1 having led into the final round and while he's shorter in the betting this time, that's based on a generally more encouraging set of results in the run-up.
He did miss the cut at the Cognizant last week but only by a single shot after a much-improved second round. That will have stung as he three-putted 17 from just 35 feet and then missed a short birdie putt on the last, but I don't mind that one bit – it helps the price and hopefully sparks something in him.
Riley certainly has a higher ceiling than most players in this field, something he demonstrated when runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in the PGA Championship last May, and having also contended at Bay Hill before he should be pretty angry at himself that he's back for another spin in Puerto Rico.
He'll also know that this is his time of year. In 2022 he'd done nothing since the Sony Open then finished second at the Valspar. A year later that top-10 finish at Bay Hill came after he'd taken a step forward for landing in Florida, before he went on to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In 2024 he added a solo title in May, then last year all three top-10s came from March to May, culminating at Quail Hollow.
It's not so much the time of year itself as it is where the PGA Tour goes during these months and we should not be at all surprised if Riley pops up somewhere soon. This will be the weakest event he plays and as it follows some quality iron play, and he's sure to benefit from more space off the tee, then he's a highly compelling proposition.
Riley led the Sony through three rounds in January so he has recent experience in the mix, whereas we were taking a big chance a year ago, not long after some very big numbers including two rounds of 80 in January. This time there have been positives in all bar one of his five starts and I have pretty high hopes now he returns to a course he's played well twice before.
Finally, big-hitting Pontus Nyholm has to be of some interest based on last week's big step forward, but Sudarshan Yellamaraju was the last man off the shortlist with his price just not generous enough.
The Indian-born Canadian has made four cuts in five as a PGA Tour rookie, missing the other by a single shot, and has two top-20s to show for his efforts so far. It's been a fine start and perhaps shows the benefits of having played golf later into last year than some of his fellow graduates, with finishes of 25th and seventh in Australia.
There's been a lot to like so far and as for his potential suitability to Grand Reserve, last year's win in the Bahamas might prove a good guide. That came on a soft par 72 featuring paspalum grass and wide fairways and there's some correlating form through Josh Teater, Erik Barnes, Akshay Bhatia, Ben Kohles, Rafael Campos, Vince Whaley and one or two more.
The left-hander began life on the PGA Tour with 13th place in the Sony at another coastal course where former Puerto Rico champion Echavarria has lost a play-off, so he makes a good deal of sense following an equally encourage display in Florida. Price though has to determine whether he makes the staking plan and 50s is short enough, not even allowing for the fact that it could disappear quickly.
Posted at 13:00 GMT on 03/03/26
More golf content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
