Power Rankings: REX Hospital Open
3 Min Read
Written by Mike Glasscott
Another week brought another fantastic finish to the Korn Ferry Tour as Harry Hall defeated Nick Hardy in a playoff at the NV5 Invitational outside Chicago. Hall joins a growing list of players this season who have put it together at just the correct time during tournament week. His victory is his first top-10 in 12 starts this season but is his second in 11 months as he won in Wichita last June. The Englishman is now up to No. 17 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
If you haven't noticed this week, the fail-safe threshold to secure a #TOURBound designation has been reduced from 900 points to 875. When every single point matters, this is a big deal.
The fifteenth of 23 regular season events takes the Korn Ferry Tour back to the Carolinas to kick off the month of June. South Carolina and The Landings Club featured in April. Now it's North Carolina at The CC at Wakefield Plantation taking center stage as the Club will host for the 21st time in the 28th edition of this event. The 2020 edition wasn't contested due to COVID-19.
As is usual this season, the prize pool will be $750,000 with the winner enjoying $135,000 and inching closer to the PGA TOUR.
The CC at Wakefield Plantation
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,269 |
| Par: | 71 (36-35). |
| Greens: | Bentgrass; 7,100 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11.5-12 feet. |
| Rough: | Bermuda at 2 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Penalty Areas | 75/6 (in play on 5 holes). |
| Defending Champion: | Mito Pereira (-21); not entered. |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (course): | 263 (-21); Pereira and Stephan Jaeger (2021), Sebastian Cappelen (2019); not entered. |
| Course Record (last): | 60; Chris Baker, Round 2 (2019). |
POWER RANKINGS
| RANK | PLAYER | COMMENT | ||
Just Missed: Kevin Dougherty, Kevin Yu, Albin Choi
While the names on the Korn Ferry Tour can and will change, this Hale Irwin design from 2000 provides plenty of familiarity to some annually. Over the last five years, this track has only played over par once.
2021: 33rd of 48; 69.388
2019: 19th of 29; 70.002
2018: 21st of 29; 69.706
2017: 11th of 28; 70.658
2016: 4th of 26; 71.680
The last two editions have seen the tournament scoring record broken and then equaled. The course record of 60 was also set in 2019. The top 42 players last year were 10-under or lower, following the top 25 from 2019. Going low, as usual, is a must. Avoiding bogeys is the easiest way to make that happen as hooping 25 or more birdies doesn't happen every week.
Bentgrass greens are on the menu for the fourth week running and are the major defense this week. Bermuda covers tees to the putting surfaces and with only two inches in the rough, the large greens become more accessible targets. Water is in play on five holes but these guys won't worry too much about the creeks framing those holes.
North Carolina is known for its style of BBQ. With the forecast of 92, 95 and 96 Tuesday through Thursday, it looks like the field, fans and Pro-Am will also be cooking. After showers possibly move through on Friday, temperatures return to June-like normal. The wind doesn't appear to factor, another reason scoring should be low again!
Last Week - NV5 Invitational
No. 10 - Vince India - T32
No. 9 - Tain Lee - MC
No. 8 - George Cunningham - 73/WD
No. 7 - Jeremy Paul - T32
No. 6 - Justin Suh - T8
No. 5 - Michael Feagles - T59
No. 4 - Nick Hardy - P2
No. 3 - Grayson Murray - WD
No. 2 - Taylor Dickson - MC
No. 1 - Taylor Montgomery - T8
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out through Twitter or email me at mikeglasscott@gmail.com.
