Our prognostications on the Mexico Open will evolve with the years, but as a new stop on the PGA TOUR and with a weaker field than most tournaments, we should see some new names breach the top-25 this week.
Even though there’s a lack of ‘total’ talent in the field, one remains up top by a large margin. Let’s take a page out of last week’s book with Team Cantlay/Schauffele and keep it simple. Jon Rahm is the best player in the field this week, and he’s usually the best player every week. Sure, the short game hasn’t been great; it’s been awful. But paspalum greens tend to mitigate the wide swings to the negative on and around the greens, which will only help the Spaniard. Over the previous 24 rounds, he’s the best in the field in SG: total on courses over 7,400, and hasn’t had a win since the 2021 U.S. Open, which is too long for someone with Rahm’s talent.
If you stack up Patrick Reed’s CV with most of the players in the field, he’s objectively one of the best in the field, but it’s been a struggle for the No. 33 ranked-golfer. Reed gained nine strokes putting at THE PLAYERS, which only resulted in a 26th. Other than a runner-up at the Bermuda Championship, his best finish is a 15th at the Sentry TOC, a limited no-cut event. In measured tournaments, he’s lost strokes off the tee in all but one tournament this year and only has two positive events with his irons since January. He’s still a top-15 player this week because there’s a slim chance he gets back on track with a top finish against this field, but our confidence in him is waning. Conversely, Matt Jones makes it inside the top-10 with how he sets up this week. Over the last 24 rounds on courses over 7,400 yards, Jones ranks top-6 in birdies or better gained and top-5 in SG: Total.
As usual, a longshot that makes the top-25 this week is Alex Smalley. A string of solid performances at the Corales Puntacana that read 14th (2020), 22nd (2021) and runner-up last year, and a top-12 (2021) at the Bermuda Championship are signs that Smalley has a liking to these tropical locations. He’s stellar off the tee, gaining in his previous nine measured events and ranking 23rd in driving distance over the last 24 rounds. The ball-striking is there for Smalley; it’s just a matter of making putts on these paspalum greens, which he’s shown he can do over his short career.
PGA TOUR Power Rankings
RANK | GOLFER | PRE-TOURNAMENT ODDS |
---|---|---|
RANK | GOLFER | PRE-TOURNAMENT ODDS |
1 | Jon Rahm | +350 |
2 | Gary Woodland | +2000 |
3 | Tony Finau | +2200 |
4 | Kevin Na | +2000 |
5 | Aaron Wise | +3000 |
6 | Abraham Ancer | +2000 |
7 | Cameron Tringale | +2000 |
8 | Sebastian Munoz | +2500 |
9 | Matt Jones | +5500 |
10 | Cameron Champ | +5000 |
11 | Brendon Tood | +4500 |
12 | Chris Kirk | +3500 |
13 | Patrick Reed | +3500 |
14 | Mark Hubbard | +7000 |
15 | Davis Riley | +7000 |
16 | C.T. Pan | +6000 |
17 | Kevin Streelman | +6000 |
18 | Alex Smalley | +8000 |
19 | Pat Perez | +7000 |
20 | Russell Knox | +7000 |
21 | Charles Howell III | +6000 |
22 | Doug Ghim | +5500 |
23 | Sahith Theegala | +8000 |
24 | Carlos Ortiz | +7000 |
25 | Austin Smotherman | +11000 |
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
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