Puerto Rico Open 2024: PGA Tour Event Preview

The Puerto Rico Open plays a supporting act this week to the PGA Tour’s Signature Event over in Orlando – The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

The tournament, now in its 16th year, has historically run alongside a higher-status event, therefore providing one of the season’s best opportunities for lower-ranked PGA Tour members to bag some precious FedExCup points.

Last time out, it was Columbian Nico Echavarria who capitalized, stepping up from 406 in the OGWRs to win on 21-under par, rising over 100 places in the space of a week to 287.

The wind-exposed par 72, 7,506-yard Grand Reserve Country Club in Rio Grande is the host venue for the Puerto Rico Open and is one of only two championship courses in the Caribbean.

Defending champion Echavarria defends his title at the Grand Reserve Golf Club, and while the field lacks the star power of Florida’s Signature Event, there is still a smattering of winners teeing it up and plenty of high-caliber players ready for a break-through win.

Rasmus Hojgaard will have a point to prove having missed out on a PGA Tour card by just 30 points at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. Ryder Cup rookie Robert MacIntyre also takes his place in the field, alongside fellow DP World Tour winners Aaron Rai, Ryo Hisatsune, and Victor Perez.

Selected odds (correct as of Mar 4, 17.00):

Rasmus Hojgaard 14/1

Aaron Rai 20/1

Daniel Berger 22/1

Ryo Hisatsune 25/1

Brandon Wu 30/1

Cameron Champ 40/1

Robert MacIntyre 45/1

Joel Dahmen 50/1

The winner in Rio Grande is set to receive a $720,000 share of the $4 million purse, up from the $684,000 won by Nico Echavarria in 2023.

While the winner does not qualify for the Masters, they do guarantee themselves entry into the PGA Championship as a Tour winner, a two-year PGA Tour exemption, and a highly valuable 300 FedExCup points.

US viewers can catch all the action on Golf Channel.

All times EST

Thursday, March 07: The Golf Channel, 10.00

Friday, March 08: The Golf Channel, 10.00

Saturday, March 09: The Golf Channel, 14.30

Sunday, March 10: The Golf Channel, 14.30

The tournament is not being broadcast on SkySports.

Tee times and groupings can be found here as soon as they are available.

Ross Tugwood

Golf Equipment Writer

Ross Tugwood is a golf equipment writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He has post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.