Jordan Spieth +700, Rickie Fowler +1500, Henrik Stenson +1200, Justin Rose +1990 and defending champion Adam Scott +1750 lead the charge to hoist the trophy in Mexico’s first WGC Championship.
World No. 2 Jason Day had to withdraw with an ear infection.
VENUE: Club de Golf Chapultepec measures 7,330 yards and plays to a par 71. It’s one of the oldest tracks in Mexico, constructed in 1928 halfway between Mexico City and the suburb of Naucalpan. Willie Smith, the Scotland-born winner of the 1899 U.S. Open, was asked to design the layout but ran into problems during the Mexican Revolution and died in 1916 with the project unfinished. His brother Alex took over and saw the course until it was completed. Percy Clifford redesigned the layout in 1972 and further upgrades came in recent months to prepare Mexico’s first World Golf Championship.
LAST YEAR: Adam Scott became the only player ever to capture both ends of the old South Florida double, following up his Honda Classic victory by charging back from a six-shot deficit on the final 13 holes to earn his 13th win of his career. The Aussie seemed out of contention after two early double bogeys, but as most veterans do, he stuck with his game plan and quickly turned things around with six birdies in his next nine holes. He finished with three up and down pars to hold off Bubba Watson by a single stroke. It was Watson’s third runner-up finish at the Blue Monster.
WGC - Mexico Championship Golf Odds
Dustin Johnson +600
Jordan Spieth +700
Rory McIlroy +950
Hideki Matsuyama +1000
Henrik Stenson +1200
Rickie Fowler +1500
Adam Scott +1750
Justin Rose +1990
Jon Rahm +2200
Sergio Garcia +2500
Justin Thomas +2700
Brandt Snedeker +3000
Paul Casey +3300
Gary Woodland +3600
Louis Oosthuizen +4000
Martin Kaymer +4250
Patrick Reed +4500
Tyrrell Hatton +4800
Phil Mickelson +5000
Jimmy Walker +5250
Bubba Watson +5500
Francesco Molinari +5800
Matt Kuchar +6000
Russell Knox +6300
Zach Johnson +6500
Emiliano Grillo +6750
Brooks Koepka +7000
Rafa Cabrera-Bello +7500
Thomas Pieters +8000
Jason Dufner +8250
Kevin Kisner +8500
Alex Noren +8800
Bill Haas +9000
Byeong Hun An +9200
Daniel Berger +9450
J.B. Holmes +9550
Bernd Wiesberger +9900
Branden Grace +10000
Charl Schwartzel +10000
Jim Furyk +10500
Matthew Fitzpatrick +10750
Ryan Moore +11000
Danny Willett +12500
Lee Westwood +10550
Jhonattan Vegas +11500
Kevin Na +12500
Sean O’Hair +13000
Jeung Hun Wang +14000
Kevin Chappell +15500
Andy Sullivan +16000
Tommy Fleetwood +17500
Chris Wood +18000
Field - All other Players +300
TV Coverage: Thursday-Friday, 2-7 p.m. ET - Golf Channel. Saturday, noon-3 p.m. Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. - NBC. Sunday, noon-2 p.m. Golf Channel, 2-6 p.m. - NBC.
WGC - Mexico Championship Predictions
The best VALUE on the board has to be Alex Noren +8800. He’s ranked in the top 15 in the world for a reason, he can play. He won four times on the European Tour last year and the former Oklahoma State star is due to win a big event. His game should be ideal for this week’s venue.
FADES:
Rory McIlroy +950 is back in action this week after taking several weeks off to tend to sore ribs. Anytime a player takes time off to heal, it takes time to get back in the groove. McIlroy will likely be in one of the “power matchups” paired up against the likes of Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson and won’t be up to the task. FADE RORY!
If Danny Willett +12500 is on the board, do yourself a favor and FADE him. The current Masters champ has lost his game, is fading fast and is not an elite player. Last week, he missed the cut and lost his matchup against fellow Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick.
The WGC - Mexico Championship golf tournament is scheduled to start March 2-5, 2017. Club de Golf Chapultepec will host the event. The Golf Channel and NBC will televise the event.
