2019 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES Preview

2019 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES Preview

Dates: October 14-20, 2019
Where: Club at Nine Bridges, Jeju Island, South Korea
Par/Yards: 72/7,241
2018 champion: Brooks Koepka
Purse: $9,750,000/$1,755,000
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play (no cut)
Field: 78

Things to Know

• World No. 1 Brooks Koepka returns to defend his title
• 44-time PGA TOUR winner Phil Mickelson and 2015 FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth make their tournament debuts
• After a restructure in the 2019-20 PGA TOUR schedule, THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES moves to lead the three Asia Swing events
• 16 South Korean players seek to win on home soil in South Korea’s first and only PGA TOUR event

A look back at 2018 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

Pos	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Brooks Koepka	71	65	67	64	267 (-21)
2	Gary Woodland	73	67	68	63	271 (-17)
T3	Rafa Cabrera Bello	73	70	65	65	273 (-15)
T3	Ryan Palmer	72	70	69	62	273 (-15)

• Brooks Koepka carded a back-nine 7-under 29 in the final round to earn his fifth career PGA TOUR victory
• With the victory, Koepka moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career and became the second consecutive reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year to win THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
• Koepka set the 54-hole and 72-hole tournament scoring record en route to winning
• Gary Woodland earned his ninth runner-up finish on TOUR after starting the final round five shots back
• Ryan Palmer birdied his last seven holes in the final round to set the course record with a 10-under 62 en route to a T3
• Among the 13 Korean players in the field, Si Woo Kim finished in the highest position at T23

Field Notes

• 9 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings, led by Kevin Na (No. 4) and Joaquin Niemann (No. 5)
• 12 of the 30 players that qualified for the 2019 TOUR Championship
• 21 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including World No. 1 Brooks Koepka
• 16 South Korean players: Byeong Hun An, Yongjun Bae, Yi Keun Chang, K.J. Choi, Jeongwoo Ham, Jung-gon Hwang, Sungjae Im, Sung Kang, Si Woo Kim, Whee Kim, Hyungjoon Lee, K.H. Lee, Soomin Lee, Tae Hee Lee, Kyongjun Moon, Sanghyun Park
• 4 other players of Korean descent: Michael Kim, Danny Lee, Wonjoon Lee, Kevin Na
• Both past champions of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES: Justin Thomas (2017), Brooks Koepka (2018)
• 10 major championship winners combining for 19 major victories, led by Phil Mickelson (5) and Brooks Koepka (4)

FedExCup and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

• THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES is one of a record 11 official FedExCup events held in the fall portion of the 2019-20 season, providing players more opportunities to get off to a strong start in the FedExCup
• In 2018-19, six of the eight fall winners went on to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship, the highest success rate since the start of the wraparound season
• For the first time since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007, all 30 players who advanced to the TOUR Championship made starts in the fall
• Every winner of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES has qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship since the tournament’s inception: Justin Thomas (2017) and Brooks Koepka (2018)

Current FedExCup standings

The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program and be well-positioned entering the FedExCup Playoffs

Position	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Points Behind	Starts	Projected Bonus
1	Lanto Griffin	710	1	1	—	5	$2 million
2	Sebastian Munoz	627	1	2	83	5	$1.5 million
3	Cameron Champ	561	1	1	149	4	$1.2 million
4	Kevin Na	553	1	1	157	3	$1.1 million
5	Joaquin Niemann	506	1	1	204	3	$1 million
6	Adam Hadwin	415	—	2	295	2	$850,000
7	Mark Hubbard	383	—	2	327	5	$700,000
8	Sungjae Im	352	—	1	358	3	$600,000
9	Harris English	344	—	3	366	4	$550,000
10	Patrick Cantlay Tom Hoge	315 315	— —	1 1	395 395	2 4	$500,000

Notable Players

Brooks Koepka Entering the week #1 OWGR

1              Start at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
1              Win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
126         PGA TOUR starts
7              PGA TOUR wins
1              PGA TOUR starts in 2019-20
0              Top-10s in 2019-20

Wins (7): 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 2017 U.S. Open, 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 PGA Championship, 2018 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, 2019 PGA Championship, 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Best 2018-19 results: Won/THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Won/PGA Championship, Won/WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, 2^nd/U.S. Open, T2/The Honda Classic. T2/Masters Tournament

• Became World No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time with a win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in 2018
• Making second start of the 2019-20 season, missing the cut in his season debut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
• Making second straight start at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, following a win in his tournament debut in 2018
• Won three titles in the 2018-19 season, including his fourth major championship (PGA Championship) and first World Golf Championships title (WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational)
• Clinched top honors in the inaugural Wyndham Rewards Top 10 by leading the FedExCup standings at the end of Regular Season in 2018-19

Phil Mickelson (making tournament debut)

Entering the week

#47         OWGR
0              Starts at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
616         PGA TOUR starts
44           PGA TOUR wins
2              PGA TOUR starts in 2019-20
0              Top-10s in 2019-20

• Returns to compete in South Korea for the first time since the 2015 Presidents Cup
• After missing the cut in his 2019-20 season debut at the Safeway Open, finished 61^st at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
• Became the only player to advance to the BMW Championship in each of the first 13 seasons of the FedExCup era, finishing the 2018-19 season No. 47 in the FedExCup standings
• Requires a Captain’s Pick from Tiger Woods to extend a record streak of competing in every Presidents Cup—12 in total since 1994

Jordan Spieth (making tournament and season debut)

• 2015 FedExCup champion makes his tournament and season debuts at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
• Collected four top-10s and made 19 cuts in 23 starts in the 2018-19 season
• Qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs and advanced to the BMW Championship for the seventh consecutive season in 2018- 19, finishing No. 44 in the FedExCup standings

Justin Thomas

• Became the inaugural champion of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in 2017 defeating Marc Leishman on the second extra hole
• 2017 FedExCup champion makes third straight appearance at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (1^st/2017, T36/2018)
• Has made one start during the 2019-20 season, finishing T4 at the Safeway Open
• Three of his 10 PGA TOUR wins have come in the fall portion of the schedule (2015 & 2016 CIMB Classic, 2017 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES)

Notable Korean-born players in the field

Sungjae Im

• The Jeju resident is making his second straight appearance at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (T41/2018)
• In three starts during the 2019-20 season, earned his career-best finish at the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship, finishing second to Sebastian Munoz in a playoff (T19/A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, T49/Safeway Open)
• Earned his first KPGA title at the 2019 Genesis Championship last week, overcoming a seven-shot deficit entering the final round for the victory
• Was voted 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, becoming the first player since Stewart Cink (1996/1997) to win PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year (Arnold Palmer Award) after claiming the Player of the Year award on the Korn Ferry Tour the prior year
• Sole PGA TOUR rookie to advance to the 2019 TOUR Championship, finishing No. 19 in the FedExCup

Byeong Hun An

• Making third start at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (T11/2017, T41/2018)
• In four starts in the 2019-20 season, enters the week having missed two consecutive cuts (T47/A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, 3^rd/Sanderson Farms Championship, MC/Safeway Open, MC/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open)
• Made the cut in 19 of 22 starts in the 2018-19 season, advancing to the BMW Championship for the second straight season to finish No. 53 in the FedExCup standings

K.J. Choi

• With eight PGA TOUR victories, South Korea’s winningest player on TOUR is playing on a sponsor exemption
• Making second appearance at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (T67/2018)
• Earned one top-10 in seven starts during the 2018-19 season (T10/RBC Heritage)

Kevin Na

• Making third consecutive start at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (T47/2017, T52/2018)
• Earned fourth career PGA TOUR victory at the 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, edging out Patrick Cantlay on the second playoff hole
• Has won three times in his last 30 starts on the PGA TOUR
• Set a PGA TOUR record for most feet of putts made (558’ 11”) in a 72-hole event (ShotLink era) in Las Vegas

Presidents Cup Notes

• U.S. and International Presidents Cup Team potential candidates have the majority of the fall schedule to impress, before Captains Tiger Woods (United States) and Ernie Els (International) each make their four Captain’s Picks the week of November 4
• Seven players in the field have already qualified for the Presidents Cup: Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith, C.T. Pan, Marc Leishman
• Potential Captain’s Picks in the field include:
  • International: Byeong Hun An, Si Woo Kim, Sung Kang, Joaquin Niemann, Sungjae Im
  • United States: Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland, Charles Howell III, Kevin Na

Tournament records and history

• 18-hole score: 62 (Ryan Palmer/R4/2018)
• 72-hole score: 267 (Brooks Koepka/2018)
• Largest margin of victory: 4 (Brooks Koepka/2018)
• Playoffs: 1 (2017/Justin Thomas def. Marc Leishman)
• Hole-in-one: 1 (Paul Casey/R2/2018)