Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun
Thursday Feb 18 – Sunday Feb 21, 2010
For the fourth year in a row the PGA Tour heads to Mexico and the Mayakoba resort where a slightly depleated field will represent while the top 64 players in the world fight it out in the WGC Match Play. Although lacking in the quality that we are used to on the Tour there is still a decent turnout for the event as many players admit to not only liking the resort but the challenge the Playa del Carmen course poses. A Greg Norman design, El Camaleon boasts a distinct layout that includes, 'tropical jungle, dense mangroves, and oceanfront stretches of sand with holes bisected by massive limestone canals' and even has 'a cenote, a massive, ancient cavern common to the area, into the heart of the opening fairway'. What these features seem to scream to me is accuracy as if a player misses the fairway off the tee then he is likely to find himself in an almost unplayable position. The stats over the last three years seem to support this theory as well with the short accurate drivers being Fred Funk, Brian Gay and Dean Wilson prevailing on a par 70 course measuring around 7000 yards. It also seems apparent that GIR is important with so many tests to negotiate on the way to the greens and being on the Mexican coast and having to accomodate the windy conditions.
It may also be worth noting that last year this course ranked 14th on the PGA Tour in difficulty which is one place higher than Augusta National and should therefore suit the more mature player and most notably a player with Major experience.
This week's picks are as follows....
Heath Slocum - Finished third here last year with two strong last rounds of 66 and 67 respectively in his first start out in Mexico. This year he ranks second in GIR with 79% over 13 rounds and this is backed up by the fact that he ranked 32nd in the same stat the year before, proof that he is consistent from fairway to green. In terms of Driving Accuracy he sits in 3rd position this year while 2009 saw him finish in 7th for this stat so he should be adequately suited to the tricky fairways here. In his three starts so far this year he has finished no better than T27th but all these previous tournaments have had stronger fields than here. 1pt e/w @ 20/1 (numerous)
Kevin Stadler - A decent record here over the three years he has played the event - T20th (2009), T48th (2008) and T13th (2007) - with a consistent ability to post rounds in the mid 60s left disappointed by the odd round of 74 thrown into the mix to prevent any higher finishes. Stadler can boast two top 20 finishes in three starts so far this year, one of which was a 10th place in the Northern Trust Open amongst a much stronger field eventually won by the new world number two. In terms of stats, the youngster ranks T12th in GIR for 2010 and T13th in Scoring Average which, other than Steve Elkington, is the highest of all participants this week. 1pt e/w @ 33/1 (Bet365)
Troy Merritt - Merritt is a previous winner in Mexico at the Mexican Open last year on the Nationwide Tour and this year he can boast a record of making three out of four cuts while posting two top 25 finishes. In all four of these PGA tournaments he has managed to consistently card rounds in the mid to low 60s which coupled with the fact that he is 15th in Birdie Average this year will prove essential on this course where historically low rounds have been posted. Finally, Merritt ranks 9th in par 3 performance for 2010 which should suit on a course where there are four such holes. 0.5pts e/w @ 66/1 (Coral) and 1pt Top Ten @ 5/1 (PaddyPower)