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Puerto Rico Open Preview & Picks - Best PGA Tour Picks This Week

By Gary Emmerson

01 Mar 2023

Gary Emmerson 01 Mar 2023

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The Puerto Rico Open takes place between March 2-5
The tournament takes place at the Grand Reserve GC, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Our four selections who could win on Sunday

A mix of seasoned professionals and promising rookies head to Puerto Rico for the latest round on the PGA Tour. Who will lift the trophy come Sunday?

Ryan Brehm will not be back to defend his title as he has opted to compete in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend.

Past major winners in the field include Jason Dufner and Geoff Ogilvy.

These are our four picks for the title this weekend.

Andrew Novak

Andrew Novak has had a consistent start to the new season on the PGA Tour, posting solid results.

Novak placed T17 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, MC at the RSM Classic, T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, MC at the American Express, T69 at the Farmers Insurance Open, T20 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and T29 at the Honda Classic this past weekend.

Other notable performances on the PGA Tour last year include finishing T11 at the Corales Puntacana Championship, T15 at the Mexico Open, and T30 at the John Deere Classic.

The 27-year-old placed T2 on debut at this event in 2022.

Novak is an improved player from last season and will fancy his chances to land his maiden PGA Tour trophy at the Puerto Rico Open this weekend.

Ryan Gerard

Ryan Gerard was the surprise package at the recent Honda Classic when placing T4 overall on his PGA Tour debut.

Before that, Gerard had been competing on the Canadian PGA Tour, achieving top results last year by finishing T18 at the Prince Edward Island Open, T26 at the Osprey Valley Open, victory at the Quebec Open, T3 at the CRMC Championship, T4 at the GolfBC Championship, and T17 at Fortinet Cup Championship before making the switch the Korn Ferry Tour at the start of 2023.

He initially struggled by missing the cut at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and Bahamas Great Abaco Classic before finishing T41 at the Panama Championship and placing T3 at the Astara Golf Championship.

The 23-year-old is making his debut at the Puerto Rico Open.

Gerard has looked the part in his fledging career and can challenge for the title this weekend.

MJ Daffue

MJ Daffue has had a decent start to his new season, with his best results being T29 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, T15 at the Investec South African Open Championship (DP World Tour), T9 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship (DP World Tour), T48 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and T21 at the recent Honda Classic.

The 34-year-old produced excellent results on the Korn Ferry Tour last year by placing T15 at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, T9 at the Astara Golf Championship, T2 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, T4 at the Lake Charles Championship, T20 at the Huntsville Championship, 3rd at the Visit Knoxville Open, 3rd at AdventHealth Championship, T31 at the US Open, T6 at the Ascendant, T12 at the Pinnacle Bank Championship, and T2 at the Albertsons Boise Open.

The South African has made one appearance at this PGA Tour event, finishing T52 in 2020.

Daffue has shown he can compete at this level and could upstage the others with victory at the Grand Reserve Golf Club.

Erik Barnes

Erik Barnes, at 35 years old, is a relative latecomer to the PGA Tour.

He has struggled to find his footing by missing the cut multiple times this season, but he has produced two excellent results by placing T10 at the RSM Classic and T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Before that, Barnes was in great form on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 by finishing T4 at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, T5 at the Panama Championship, T5 at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, T7 at the Club Car Championship, 3rd at the Huntsville Championship, T9 at the Visit Knoxville Open, T16 at the AdventHealth Championship, and T4 at the Albertsons Boise Open.

The American is making his debut at the Puerto Rico Open.

Barnes can come out on top if he rediscovers his form from the Korn Ferry Tour.

Verdict

Puerto Rico Open

Novak has performed consistently well on the PGA Tour lately and can make the frame.

Gerard can challenge for victory in Puerto Rico if he can replicate his performance from last weekend.

Daffue has threatened to put in a big performance, and this could be the ideal tournament for him to achieve a winning result on the PGA Tour.

Barnes has the game to feature prominently at the Grand Reserve Golf Club this weekend.

Andrew Novak

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Ryan Gerard

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MJ Daffue

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