While Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other usual suspects will be dueling at Doral during the WGC-Cadillac Championship, another interesting group of PGA Tour players will showcase their talents farther south of South Beach.
The Puerto Rico Open begins Thursday and features both veteran and notable young talent. George McNeill will defend his title against a field of familiar names like Justin Leonard, Lee Janzen, David Duval and names you should begin to remember.
The tournament will also feature a few players who share family ties too. Masters champion, Angel Cabrera will play alongside his son Angel Jr., and Camilo Villegas will compete against his brother and Web.com Tour member Manuel Villegas.
Last year’s exciting final round saw McNeill fend off Ryo Ishikawa in order to win his second PGA Tour career title.
Who will McNeill have to compete with this year? Besides some PGA Tour regulars, there will also be some teens and 20-somethings who are proving their talents are worth a closer look.
Japan’s Ishikawa should feel good about his chances this week. He finished in second last year at this event and earned himself temporary membership on the Tour through the rest of 2012. He will certainly feel he has something to prove this week.
Luke Guthrie played in the Honda Classic last week and finished third. It was his best career finish since graduating from the Web.com Tour. Guthrie should be feeling confident this week based on his strong play at the Honda last week.
Where are the precocious teens? Si Woo Kim will be playing in only his second PGA tournament. The 17-year-old earned his Tour card at Q-School last year but cannot become a member until he turns 18 this summer. He also played at the star-studded AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this year which was his very first PGA tournament.
Another teenager entered this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and will compete again this weekend. Jordan Spieth placed 22nd at Pebble Beach after just earning his Tour card in December. The 19-year-old hopes to continue to improve and impress this week.
Speaking of impressing, Donald Trump should be smiling because he will have a monopoly over the PGA Tour this week. Both Doral and the Trump International Golf Club are owned by him and both will feature tournaments which will be broadcast worldwide.
Trump International Golf Club sits at the edge of the El Yunque Rainforest and provides magnificent backdrops of tropical mountainous regions and oceanfront views. Originally designed by Tom Kite, the property was bought by Trump and updated in 2007. The Tour added the course to the rotation 2008.
The scenery may be breathtaking, but the demanding course will prove to be challenging for both veterans and rookies alike.