One & Done: WGC-Mexico Championship

The fourth of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Cologuard Classic. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes and 21 notables from the field of 78 in Tucson, Arizona. In case you didn’t notice, there are fewer PGA TOUR non-members inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking than in recent memory. Entering the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, there are only six: Matthew Fitzpatrick (30th), Hao Tong Li (37th), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (40th), Satoshi Kodaira (43rd), Dylan Frittelli (44th) and Yuta Ikeda (48th). Prior to the 2017-18 season, the total was usually around a dozen at any given time. From this crop, we’re compelled to select one for any WGC. Holstering TOUR members who don’t globetrot is logical because no-cut limited fields equate to bonus points. As long as you remember to submit a pick and he doesn’t withdraw or get disqualified, you’re going to score. Consider just last season when your non-member lineup in the WGCs could have consisted of Ross Fisher (T6) at the HSBC, Tommy Fleetwood (second) in Mexico, Hideto Tanihara (fourth) at the Match Play and Thomas Pieters (fourth) at Bridgestone. By the time the non-member FedExCup points were tabulated, only Tanihara didn’t qualify for fully exempt status this season. Because Club de Golf Chapultepec is the newest host site of all of the WGCs, limited course history motivates us to scout more than usual for a worthy option. The hard part, of course, is connecting with the right guy at the right time. Fitzpatrick is a fantastic choice who fulfills this series of strategic components. He’s also one of 35 in this week’s field who competed at Chapultepec last year. The Brit placed T16. Other than endorsing Frittelli in two-man formats, all of the other five aforementioned non-members inside the current top 50 of the OWGR because of one important motivating factor. Quite simply, because of the construction of their fields, WGCs tend to reveal the best of the best. There are no flukes, so to speak and with the guarantee of four rounds, the cream always rises. That brings us back to the first-time TOUR members – Fisher, Fleetwood, Pieters, Alex Noren and Tyrrell Hatton. All but Hatton are in my Power Rankings. All but Noren (T55) finished inside the top 10 at Chapultepec last year. It’s from this subset where I’m making my selection and recommending that you do the same. As I stated in Tuesday’s Fantasy Live Show, in which Fleetwood won a head-to-head poll with Justin Thomas (No. 1 in the Power Rankings) as the preferred One & Done, Noren is a machine, but you could flip a coin between him and Fleetwood and be satisfied. If you’ve already burned both, then Fisher slides into place as the sporty surrogate. Pieters has been too inconsistent to trust as much as the other three in this format, but he’s a dandy in the Roster game. Because Phil Mickelson can feel forced when he’s not in form, give the World Golf Hall of Famer a look right now while he’s dialed in. He turned a T7 in Mexico last year, too. Paul Casey profiles similarly and he eats up the WGCs. He’s always a timely chip to play in the absence of automatics. Two-man gamers can take the 1-1a approach and piggyback their headliner with Patrick Cantlay. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Paul Casey … WGC-Match Play (7); Masters (1); Travelers (4); WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … Valero (1; defending); St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Dufner … Valspar (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Tony Finau … Valero (5); Memorial (3); Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Rickie Fowler … Houston (4); Masters (8); Wells Fargo (7); PLAYERS (9); WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Sergio Garcia … Masters (3; defending); PLAYERS (5); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … Heritage (1); Valero (2); U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (5); DEAN & DELUCA (4); John Deere (3) Russell Henley … Houston (1; defending); Greenbrier (3) Charley Hoffman … Heritage (7); Houston (5); Valero (1); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (2); Canadian (3) Dustin Johnson … WGC-Mexico (7; defending); WGC-Match Play (16; defending); Houston (15); Masters (4); Memorial (12); St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (4); DEAN & DELUCA (1; defending); Memorial (5); Wyndham (6) Matt Kuchar … Valspar (8); Masters (5); Heritage (1); Valero (10); PLAYERS (11); DEAN & DELUCA (6); Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Marc Leishman … Arnold Palmer (3; defending); DEAN & DELUCA (7); Memorial (5); Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Phil Mickelson … WGC-Mexico (9); Houston (3); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (2); St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Francesco Molinari … Arnold Palmer (1); PLAYERS (2) Louis Oosthuizen … WGC-Match Play (1); Masters (2); U.S. Open (5); PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Pat Perez … Houston (6); Heritage (5); Valero (7) Patrick Reed … Valspar (6); Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … Arnold Palmer (3); Masters (1); Wells Fargo (4); PLAYERS (9); Memorial (6); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … Valspar (1); WGC-Match Play (3); Memorial (4); U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Webb Simpson … Wells Fargo (7); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (8); Greenbrier (5); Wyndham (1) Jordan Spieth … Valspar (8); Houston (11); Masters (1); Heritage (12); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … Valero (6); Wells Fargo (7); Travelers (3) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (7); Valspar (8); Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Bubba Watson … Memorial (6); Travelers (5); Greenbrier (8); WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) Gary Woodland … Wells Fargo (5); Barracuda (1); Dell Technologies (3) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Cologuard Classic This is the fourth year for the tournament and first for the title sponsor. It’s partnered with the Tucson Conquistadores through 2020. All editions have been contested on the Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National, a par 36-37=73 with five par 5s. The 610-yard 12th hole was the second-longest on tour last year, but it was the easiest of seven capable of stretching at least 600 yards. At an aggregate 7,238 yards, Catalina is one of the longest courses on the schedule. Tom Lehman posted a tournament-record 20-under 199 en route to a one-stroke victory last year. Former champions Marco Dawson (2015) and Woody Austin (2016) are also scheduled to play. Total prize money distributed is $1.7 million. The winner will receive $255,000. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Cologuard (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (1; defending); Insperity (4); Principal (8); U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) Billy Andrade … Cologuard (1); Toshiba (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Bass Pro Shops (4) Joe Durant … Toshiba (4); Bass Pro Shops (5); Insperity (15); Principal (2); American Family (8); U.S. Senior Open (7); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (7); 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … Rapiscan (1); U.S. Senior Open (2) Brandt Jobe … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Senior PGA (2); Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Cologuard (6; defending); Bass Pro Shops (7); Insperity (8); Regions Tradition (5); Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Cologuard (2); Rapiscan (4); Insperity (1); American Family (3); Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Toshiba (9); Rapiscan (7); Regions Tradition (2); Senior PGA; Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Senior PGA (1); U.S. Senior Open (6); SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Cologuard (6); Rapiscan (1); Principal Charity (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Gene Sauers … Cologuard (4); Rapiscan (2); Insperity (7); Regions Tradition (3); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Vijay Singh … Bass Pro Shops (4; defending); Senior PGA (3); U.S. Senior Open (2); Shaw (5); SAS (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett …  Insperity (2); Regions Tradition (6); American Family (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Cologuard (3); Toshiba (2); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (4); Principal (6); Shaw (5)

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