For the first time in the history of the World Golf Championships, Mexico is hosting an individual competition. The WGC-Mexico Championship will be contested this week at Club de Golf Chapultepec. As of midday Monday, 77 qualifiers are committed to compete. POWER RANKINGS: WGC – MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP First start as the world’s top-ranked golfer. Pacing the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green; ranks third in greens in regulation. Three wins in WGCs. Contending regularly despite occasional discomfort in right knee. Runner-up in last start in Dubai. Still chasing first stroke-play title in a WGC, but has four top fives. Win on Poa at Pebble Beach was fifth straight top 10 worldwide; two were victories. Rested since T22 at Riviera. Tops on TOUR in GIR and fifth in birdie-or-better percentage. Toss out his second-round 80 at Riviera as an anomaly. The FedExCup points leader has two wins and two seconds this season. Leads TOUR in par-5 scoring. Top-four finishes in three of his first four starts of 2017. Ranks fifth in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 11th in scrambling and third in adjusted scoring. Everything is clicking in 2016-17 with two runner-up finishes, a T5 and a T6 on the board. In two starts at the Barracuda, he won in 2013 and finished second in 2016. Honda title was culmination of months of outstanding form. First on TOUR in adjusted scoring and second in scrambling. Tied for fourth at the 2014 BMW Championship. First start since mid-January due to a stress fracture in a rib. Top 10s in last four starts. T8 at 2014 BMW. Also 3-for-3 at European Masters, all for top sevens. Technically defending, just not on the same course. Winless since his 2016 title at Trump National Doral but still a top-15 machine. Slots seventh in adjusted scoring. Consistently strong form remains. His T4 at PGA National matched a 17-month personal best, first achieved in Abu Dhabi in January. Runner-up at 2011 European Masters. In the wake of traveling from Australia where he placed fifth, co-led field at PGA National in GIR and ranked third in average distance of putts made and finished T21. The red-hot Englishman placed T4 at PGA National. Six top 10s in last nine starts worldwide. Third-place finishes at the European Masters in 2014 and 2015. Top 20s in all six starts this season, the best a T4 at the WGC-HSBC Champions, which is also his career best in a WGC. Leads TOUR in scrambling; fourth in adjusted scoring. Leads TOUR in total driving; ranks third in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Also strong at altitude with a 5-for-5 slate at the European Masters (2005 win) and T4 at 2014 BMW. Making his WGC debut at No. 38 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Hasn’t let up since breakthrough title at Torrey Pines with a T16 (WMPO) and T5 (Pebble Beach) since. Scuffling since sweeping the Aloha Swing, but the three-time winner this season ranks No. 1 in both birdie-or-better percentage and par-4 scoring. Just second appearance in a WGC, but he’s thrived at the Barracuda Championship where he’s 5-for-5 with four top 10s. Perfect in nine starts in 2016-17 with six top 20s. The four-time winner in 2016 has to be licking his chops. He’s 5-for-7 at the European Masters with two titles, including last year’s. Opened 2017 with a pair of top 25s. Surging again with a T16 at TPC Scottsdale and T4 at Riviera. Zero problems at elevation evidenced by a 5-for-6 record with five top 25s at the Barracuda Championship. No recent experience at altitude but won’t mind Poa on the putting surfaces. Connected top 10s on the grass at Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach in the last month. RANK PLAYER COMMENT Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel among other notables. Mexico’s only previous role as host for a WGC occurred in 2002 when the World Cup was still wearing the badge (2000-2006). Puerto Vallarta presented a site near the shore. This week’s host, Club de Golf Chapultepec, is located in mountain terrain west of Mexico City. It’s a par 35-36=71 tipping at 7,330 yards, but at an elevation of approximately 7,500 feet, the field will be calculating an additional 10 percent or so on measurements. Compared to sea level, it means that the course could play at a translated length of 6,600-6,700 yards. This is why many of the golfers above have results referencing the 2014 BMW Championship contested at Cherry Hills in Colorado, the Barracuda Championship held in Reno, Nevada, and the European Masters in the Swiss Alps. Club de Golf Chapultepec opened in 1928 and hosted the Mexican Open from 1944-1960. Since, it’s been in a rotation, returning as the site for the national championship in 1974, 1981, 1991 and 2014. In its last spin three years ago, it played as a par 72 when the eighth hole was a 526-yard par 5. (It’s now a 525-yard par 4.) Oscar Alvarez prevailed by one at 17-under 271. The only golfer in this week’s field who competed here in 2014 was Roberto Diaz of Mexico; he placed T36. Current PGA TOUR rookie Julian Etulain finished T14, while PGA TOUR winner Ted Purdy missed the cut. Former member Alexandre Rocha tied for third. Rough has been limited to two inches, and with a short track and so many opportunities to score, red numbers should be plentiful. Two of the three par 5s are longer than 620 yards – Nos. 6 and 11 – but six of the par 4s check up short of 410 yards. Undulating greens consisting of a blend of bentgrass and Poa are prepped to run 11.5 on the Stimpmeter. That’s a fair compromise for golfers traveling from all corners of the globe who are not accustomed to speedy surfaces. What’s more, unfamiliar greens benefit average putters. With a seven-year agreement through 2023 at Club de Golf Chapultepec, those who qualify can record and save data for future editions. With no cut in World Golf Championships, all who are in attendance will get four rounds to compile information on top of the experience. After a sun-splashed opening round on Thursday when the daytime high will be in the upper 70s, warmest of the tournament, the threat for rain enters the picture, albeit moderate at worst. Winds are expected to be light throughout, leaving math to determine projected distance as the primary challenge tee to green. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Comfort Zone, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks, which also publishes on Tuesdays.
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