News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Jan. 18, 2022: For those who follow the PGA and its multiple chapters around the world, the biggest news from last year is certainly the formation of the DP World Tour. The new leg is an updated and expanded version of the European Tour, which will now include stop offs in places like China, Kenya, and South Africa.
The DP World Tour also includes US stopovers as part of a ‘Strategic Alliance’ with the North American PGA Tour. Though this hasn’t seen a new roll-out of events for North American professional golfers, there’s not necessarily a huge will for this coming from pros and fans alike.
After all, the PGA Tour has steadily expanded its international events, which include a slew of Caribbean tournaments. This expansion also overlaps with the legalization of sports betting in the US, which occurred in 2018.
Since then, there’s been added interest from general sports fans in using free bets to check out a new sport like golf. Golf, with its emphasis on statistics and technical skill, has proved especially popular for bettors interested in nailing precise outcomes. Unsurprisingly, one of the most important factors are the greens themselves, from knowing which holes are most challenging to understanding wind patterns of a local area.
With the Caribbean’s stunning views, course challenges are often deceptively complex—much to the entertainment of spectators. Keep reading for more information on the PGA Tour’s official Caribbean events that have yet to be played in the 2021-22 season.
Puerto Rico Open, Puerto Rico
March 3-6, 2022, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
First played in 2008, this stunning course was designed by Tom Kite and is considered a ‘golfer’s course’. This should come as no surprise, considering Kite was a successful pro before moving on to designing courses. Aside from coastal greens, the Puerto Rico Open is known for being the origin of a PGA Tour ‘curse’.
The curse hinted that any pro who won the Puerto Rico Open would never win a PGA tournament again. However, Viktor Hovland ‘broke’ the curse after he won the Puerto Rico Open in 2020, then went on to take the Mayakoba Golf Classic later that year.
Corales Puntacana Championship, Dominican Republic
March 24-27, 2022, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
First played in 2018 as part of the PGA Tour, this event has recently become one of the PGA Tour’s heavy-hitters (aside from its four Majors). Typically, Caribbean tournaments like Mayakoba and the Puerto Rico Open help players accrue points, which make them eligible for larger events.
Starting with the 2020-21 season, the Corales Puntacana Championship now allocates top player FedEx Cup points, as well as an automatic invitation to the Masters Tournament for the top player.
