Another close result on the weekend at the Genesis Open as our top pick, Rory McIlroy, finished T4 just two shouts behind eventual winner J.B. Holmes. Our top ten saver tip saluted at $2.60 but we will continue to hunt our first win of the 2019 PGA Tour this weekend when we head to Mexico for the annual WGC-Mexico Championship.
The WGC-Mexico one of four annual World Golf Championship events with sanctioned prizemoney from both the European and USA PGA Tours. Catch our preview and betting tips for the weekend’s action below.
WGC – Mexico Championship Betting Tips
Course
The WGC-Mexico will be held at the Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City this week. Since 2007, the tournament had been consistently held in Doral, Florido, however, in 2017, Mexico City struck a seven-year deal to host the tournament at the Club de Golf Chapultepec, famous for being the original site of the Mexican Open.
The course plays as a 7,330-yard par 71, which seems long but due to the high altitude in Mexico City and surrounding areas (over 2,350 metres at times), driving distances increase with a lack of drag on the ball. Length shouldn’t be an issue for the majority of the field this week.
The course features tree lined fairways which dog-leg both left and right but arguably its two most defining features are tricky approach shots can be both up or downhill onto complex greet structures. Strong approach players and putters will be our main focus this week.
Field
The lead up to the Players Championship next month and the Masters in April means that the fields, starting last weekend at the Genesis Open, are starting to look very star studded. The $10,250,000 prize pool for this tournament is one of the biggest on tour outside of the majors and it has attracted a short, but comprehensive list of the best players from both US and Europe's tours.
With no cut at the WGC-Mexico, the qualifying parameters were tougher than most tournaments, and the field currently sits at 72 players. Phil Mickelson is in fantastic form at the moment and will be back to defend his title from 2018 while Dustin Johnson represents the only other winner of the tournament since it moved to Mexico in 2017.
Tiger Woods will be back in action after a fairly strong Genesis Open which saw him finished T15 and has won the tournament seven times before, albeit when it was named and located out of Mexico.
Some of the other top ranked players lining up this weekend include Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman, Tony Finau, Bubba Watson and Brooks Koepka, who will be making his first PGA Tour start since the Sentry Tournament of Champions all the way back on the 6th of January.
Tips
Hard for us to look past the Aussie Marc Leishman this weekend. He has been arguably the most consistent player on tour this year, having already racked up one win at the CIMB Classic and a further three top 10 finishes through six PGA Tour events this season. His last four events in particular have read T4 at the Tournament of Champions, T3 at the Sony Open, T43 at the Farmers Insurance and T4 at the Genesis Open on the weekend.
He is strong in both of the aspects that we are looking for this weekend, approach and putting, ranking 5th overall in shots gained on approach to the green and 16th on tour in shots gained putting. He ranks 19th overall in greens in regulation percentage and 6th in percentage when going for the green on a par 5. including unnoficial events, has only failed to make the top 20 once in seven tournaments this year and currently sits 4th in the race for the Fed Ex Cup. Having a truly remarkable and underrated season.
After battling injury since the Ryder Cup last year which delayed his start to the PGA Tour season, Italian Francesco Molinari will suit up this weekend at the WGC-Mexico. Molinari hasn’t played a tournament since the Sentry Tournament of Champions back in January and was supposed to line up for the Genesis Open last weekend before sickness ruled him out. Might be coming into the tournament a little underdone but this means he represents great value.
Hard to imagine the current British Open Champion and world No.10 at $51 to win any tournament but that’s what he has opened at for the WGC-Mexico on the weekend. Molinari was a fantastic approach player on tour last season, ranking No.10 in shots gained on approach and is ridiculously consistent. Racked up two wins and 11 top 25 finishes from 20 PGA Tour events last season.
Francesco Molinari Top 20 Finish
$2.75
Shane Lowry at $3.50
Lee Westwood at $3.60
Rafa Cabrera Bellow at $2.75
Brandt Snedeker at $4.33
