SCHAUFFELE AND CANTLAY DOMINATE THE ZURICH CLASSIC AS THE TOUR HEADS DOWN TO MEXICO
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele reign supreme in New Orleans. The pairing led the Zurich classic from start to finish after an impressive opening round 59. The pairing ended up winning by 2 clear shots over Billy Horschel and Sam Burns but defeat was never on the cards.
A return to normal for the PGA Tour this week as it rolls on down to Mexico for the Mexico Open at Vidanta. This will be the first time the Mexico Open will be played on the PGA Tour calendar. The Mexico Open is considered to be the country’s national championship which was first contested in 1944.
This is a new tournament and a brand new course and replaces the WGC Mexico.
THE FIELD
This week’s field consists of 132 players and will include world number 2 Jon Rahm.
There are plenty of Mexicans in the field including the highest rank Abraham Ancer, who returns for the first time since the Masters and it will be interesting to see if he has recovered from his injury issues. Other notable Mexicans include PGA Tour winner Carlos Ortiz and Korn Ferry Tour winner Roberto Diaz.
Other notables in the field include former major winners including Gary Woodland, Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed. There are also multi-time tour winners here including Daniel Berger, Cameron Champ and Kevin Na.
Completing the field are PGA Tour regulars and several Korn Ferry graduates as they all look to lock up their tour cards.
The tournament field this week includes 132 players, will begin on April 28th and run through to May 1st.
RECENT WINNERS
2021: Alvaro Ortiz
2020: Canceled (COVID)
2019: Drew Nesbitt
2018: Austin Smotherman
2017: Canceled
2016: Sebastian Vazquez
2015: Justin Hueber
2014: Oscar David Alvarez
2013: Ted Purdy
THE COURSE
Vidanta Villarta Resort
Yardage: 7,456
Par: 71
Greens: Paspalum
Comp Courses: TPC Louisiana, Corales, TPC Craig Ranch, Caves Valley.
Vidanta Villarta resort is a Greg Norman design that rests on Ameca river with stunning views of the Sierra Madre mountains. The course itself is very flat with hardly any elevation changes.
Guest’s of this course actually play it as a Par 73, however for the tournament this week a few of the Par 5’s will be converted into par 4’s for the tour pros.
Like many Greg Norman designed golf courses the closing hole is a par 5 which is certainly reachable in 2 for the bigger hitters. However this is not an easy hole with jungle forests to the right and a large fairway bunker to the left. It certainly will provide some closing fireworks.
Typical of Greg Norman designed courses there are a ton of bunkers especially guarding the greens which are very deep. Water is in play on half the holes also and this course presents more of a challenge if the wind gets up.
Overall the course is not particularly tough, even though it’s very long. There are reachable par 4’s and wide open fairways on certain holes so scoring should be low once again this week.
KEY STATS
Strokes Gained Approach
Strokes Gained Tee To Green
Driving Distance
Strokes gained on approach are always a key stat to look at and that’s the case once again here. Golfers this week will need to be dialed in with their iron play just to avoid the deep bunkers that guard the greens. Avoiding these will create greater birdie opportunities.
Strokes gained tee to green could be key for the winner here this week as they’ll have to have an all round game to navigate this golf course. Being long and accurate off the tee will be vital due to the length of the course and as mentioned approach will be key to avoid the bunkers. Don’t be surprised to see the winner lead in this stat come the end of the week.
Driving distance is going to be key around this golf course just because of the length of it. Golfers will need to gain birdies on the reachable par 5’s and they will only do that by being long off the tee.
It is worth keeping an eye on the weather this week as Vidanta Villarta Resort offers an even harder test if the wind blows.
When picking lineups it could be wise to sprinkle in some picks who are likely to be less owned.
THE CONTESTS
The PGA tour rolls on and to Vidanta Villarta Resort for the Mexico Open. This week’s contest has a €12 buy-in with a €5,000 prize pool.
€12 entry – Mexico Open – €5,000 GTD – 28th April – 1st May
€2 entry – Mexico Open – €1,500 GTD – 28th April – 1st May
€2 entry –Mexico Open Round 2 – €600 GTD – 29th April
€2 entry – Mexico Open Round 3 – €600 GTD – 30th April
€5 entry –Mexico Open Round 4 – €1,000 GTD – 1st May
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP MONSTER LEADERBOARD
Golf’s second major is just around the corner and with it the return of our €20,000 golf Monster. The PGA Championship begins on the 19th May and we could not be more excited.
In preparation for the PGA Championship is the return of our profit golf leaderboard which runs from the 29th April to the 15th May. All PGA Tour single round tournaments will be included during this period, so keep your eyes peeled.
Tournaments included:
Mexico Open – Rounds 2,3 and 4
Wells Fargo Championship – Rounds 2,3 and 4
AT&T Byron Nelson Rounds 2,3 and 4
Scoring for this contest is based on the net profit each user gets at the end of each tournament. The user who earns the most profit will earn the first place points. The user who earns the second most points will earn the second place points and so on.
In total there’s 40 tickets up for grabs.
Max entries are capped at 50 per contest, so it is up to you what strategy you take.
Good Luck.
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