PGA Tour pros can expect to face a challenging architectural test at this year’s CJ Cup.
The Tour and CJ Group officials announced Wednesday that the CJ Cup will be contested at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the week of October 20-23, and change its name to the CJ Cup in South Carolina.
Congaree, which previously hosted a PGA Tour event in 2021, ranks No. 22 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list.
The tournament was launched as Korea’s first official PGA Tour tournament in 2017 and was played for three consecutive years at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island before being relocated to the U.S. due to the challenges of COVID-19.
This will be the first time the tournament will be played in the Southeast region of the U.S. following the staging of the tournament in Las Vegas, first at Shadow Creek Golf Course in 2020 and The Summit Club in 2021.
The fall event will feature a 78-man field comprised of five players designated by the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), as well as the top-3 available players of Korean nationality from the Official World Golf Ranking as part of CJ Group’s vision to support the development of professional golf in Korea. The remainder of the field will be made up of the leading players from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup points list and sponsor exemptions. There will be no 36-hole cut.
Congaree, a Tom Fazio design, is located about an hour northwest of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Garrick Higgo won the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June of 2021. According to the Tour’s news release, the course was built to challenge the world’s top golfers and has earned widespread praise among PGA Tour players.
“It’s 100-percent playable to all golfers,” said South Carolina native Lucas Glover in 2021. “It’s designed that way. It’s a good test for a good player and a fair test for an average to high handicapper.”
Built on a former plantation, the course was designed to play fast and firm. Read more about the course and enjoy our photo gallery here.
