The Details:
The Course: El Camaleon Golf Course
Par: 71 (7,100 Yards)
This week’s course is a beauty of a course. The Greg Norman designed course bends through the three landscapes on the Mayan Rivera. There are some beautiful holes that run along oceanfront stretches. There are some spots for awe-inspiring photos. This course was the first ever in Mexico to host a PGA Tour event, when it first hosted The Mayakoba Classic in 2007. This is another tournament like the RSM Classic, it’s typically short on star power… but not this year as it brings 29 of the top 100 ranked golfers. Even with world #1 Dustin Johnson withdrawing, this field is still extremely strong with golfers like Justin Thomas and Brooks Kopeka competing. This is another course that favors the shorter and more accurate drivers. This course for whatever reason also seems to favor older and more experienced golfers with 11 of 13 winners being over the age of the 30. The 3 par fives all had over 5 eagles on them last year, so most golfers will score well on them. All the winners of this event have always finished in the top 10 for par 4 scoring. Let dive in and look at a few golfers who I believe will be in contention this week.
The Players:
Harris English
He is coming off of a top 10 finish and has had an extremely good start to 2020 all together. He is top 50 in strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained putting. He can do all of it well, and comes in with course experience with a win in 2013, and a top 5 finish here last year. Look for him to continue building on the momentum that he has built coming into this event.
Abraham Ancer
A Mexican born player has never won the event before, but maybe this will be the year. Ancer made a valiant effort last year finishing in 8th place, so look for him to build on that finish and compete for the top prize this year. He is coming off of a top 20 finish in the Masters where he was in contention before falling off on the final round. He has made the cut in all 5 of his starts this year and this tournament will be no different. He is one of the most accurate players in the field hitting 70% of fairways which will certainly help him this week. While also in the top 70 for greens in regulation, hitting them at about a 70% clip so far this year. All this should equal low scores and contention for the Mexico born Ancer.
Keegan Bradley
After a strong showing, and a top 15 showing in the RSM classic, we are riding with Bradley again this week. He is quickly becoming a favorite of The Thick Stuff. He is one of the more accurate players off of the tee in the field this week hitting 66% of fairways… as well as hitting over 70% of greens in regulation. His game sets up well for this weekend’s course. He is gaining the 2nd most stokes tee to green in the field behind only Tony Finau. Look for him to continue his solid start to the 2021 season and secure another top 20 finish this weekend!