Quick look at the Travelers Championship

The PGA TOUR added a second event in Mexico to its schedule with January’s announcement of the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Vidanta Vallarta will host the event for the next three years. World No. 3 Jon Rahm headlines the field, with plenty of home-country talent trying to lift a trophy on Mexican soil. FIELD NOTES: Rahm tees it up for the first time since the Masters. He’s the highest-ranked player in the field … Abraham Ancer leads the Mexican contingent at Vidanta Vallarta alongside fellow TOUR winner Carlos Ortiz and Korn Ferry Tour winner Roberto Diaz … Major champs Gary Woodland, Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed are set to tee it up … Multi-time TOUR winners Tony Finau, Daniel Berger, Cameron Champ and Kevin Na are in the field … Several 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour graduates are teeing it up and looking to lock up PGA TOUR status for next season with a solid effort this week … The Monday qualifier already occurred. Patrick Flavin, Jeffrey Kang, Turk Pettit and Bryson Nimmer earned their way into the field. Flavin and Pettit advanced via a 6-for-2 playoff. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Vidanta Vallarta, par 71, 7,456 yards. This Greg Norman design opened in 2015. There are large landing areas off the tee, while the greens are protected by cavernous bunkers. The course meanders along the Ameca River, with views of the Sierra Madres offered on every hole. STORYLINES: The Mexico Open is considered the country’s national golf championship and was first contested in 1944. It boasts winners like Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, Roberto De Vicenzo, Ben Crenshaw and Stewart Cink … Four native Mexican golfers have won on the PGA TOUR. Abraham Ancer was the most recent – he captured the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2021 … This will be the second event in Mexico on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR schedule, as Viktor Hovland won the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in November … 250 yards were added to the golf course from its original design in preparation for the arrival of the PGA TOUR, along with 51 new bunkers (for a total of 106). 72-HOLE RECORD: N/A 18-HOLE RECORD: N/A LAST TIME: This is the first Mexico Open on the PGA TOUR calendar. Patrick Reed won the former World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in 2020, the last time it was contested in Mexico City, while Alvaro Ortiz (brother of Carlos) won the 2021 Abierto Mexicano de Golf. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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Aaron Wise (+100 for a Top 20) … As explained in my Power Rankings and always conveyed when the PGA TOUR descends on an unfamiliar course, consistent ball-striking upon arrival is like a head start. Even the best putters need a round or two to find the feel of the greens. You’ll find the 25-year-old inside the top 45 on the PGA TOUR in Stroke Gained: Off-the-Tee, greens in regulation, ball-striking and SG: Tee-to-Green. He’s also T6 in par-3 scoring, a metric of value since Vidanta Vallarta has five one-shotters. And for even further support, he’s rested since a T21 at Harbour Town where he put his strengths to use and ranked 21st in SG: Putting. Tyler Duncan (+333 for a Top 20) … Fits the profile and he’s been performing well enough to warrant this reach. Currently third on TOUR in fairways hit, sixth in proximity to the hole, 37th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and T4 in par-3 scoring. In his last eight starts, he’s cashed six times, thrice for a top 25, including a T12 at Harbour Town and a T14 with regular partner Adam Schenk at TPC Louisiana. Emiliano Grillo (+400 for a Top 20) … When he’s on, the world-class ball-striker would be an automatic in the Power Rankings in a situation like this. At worst, it’d be considered cheating to classify him as a Sleeper, but with five straight missed cuts and 10 MCs in his last 12 starts dating back to November, there’s an argument that this endorsement is too hopeful. So, ease in only for a make-the-cut consideration. Chase Seiffert (+400 for a Top 20) … Despite conditional status, he’s opted to focus on the PGA TOUR this season, at least thus far. Because he’s eschewed moonlighting opportunities on the Korn Ferry Tour, he’s been limited to eight starts in the big leagues, but he’s made most of them count. Half have gone for a top 25, including a season-best a T18 alongside fellow Florida State University product Hank Lebioda on Sunday in NOLA. Patrick Flavin (+700 for a Top 20) … He’s not quite at the level of Patrick Reed or T.J. Vogel in terms of open qualifying, but the 26-year-old product of Miami (Ohio) University is in the field at Vidanta Vallarta via the four-spotter that was conducted on April 18. It’s the third time he’s turned the trick this season. He’s also 3-for-3 overall with a pair of top 25s, both of which as an open qualifier (into Bermuda and Puerto Rico). Odds were sourced on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

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“When I get some time off, I think this could be a game changer.” That was Will Zalatoris’ first thought after rolling a few putts with a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 prototype putter in May. He got that time off, unfortunately, following a back injury that forced him out of The Open Championship and kept him on the sidelines until last week. While resting and rehabbing at home following his early exit from Royal St. George’s, Zalatoris, who “hated every minute” of the downtime, decided to engage in some flatstick experimentation. He found the Phantom X 11 prototype putter — with a black topline for added alignment — both rolled the ball a more predictable distance and gave him more feedback off the face. “I loved how immediately off the face … I just get immediate feedback,” Zalatoris said. “I was starting to lose that a little bit with my putter. … I can feel that ball exactly where it comes off on the face.” Zalatoris put the putter in play at last week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where he finished eighth. He was ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting at TPC Southwind after ranking 150th in the category for the season. Zalatoris has been one of this season’s breakout star and his putter has been a big topic of discussion because of the arm-lock method that cured his putting woes and allowed him to capitalize on his incredible iron play (he currently ranks seventh in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green). His play has earned him a TOUR card for next season but he must win this week’s Wyndham Championship to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Regarding the putter, Scotty Cameron TOUR Rep Drew Page said, “Players just love the way the 11 sits on the ground. Will’s putter has the same single-bend shaft configuration, it’s just longer to accommodate the arm-lock stroke. When you put it down, it doesn’t open, it doesn’t close, it just sets up so easily.” Beyond the ease of setup, Zalatoris described his testing and the clarity of feel with the flatstick. “I was hitting putts and not looking at where the ball was going and just trying to guess long (or) short, and I immediately was getting that,” he said. “I wasn’t able to do that with my old one, so right there I know exactly this is the putter I was going to go to.” While Zalatoris hasn’t tested the putter on any putt analysis system, he said he felt the ball skidded less off the face and began rolling sooner than with his previous putter, which high-speed cameras confirmed. While he conceded, “Part of (the decision to switch putters) was just because I couldn’t hit balls for two weeks so kind of the boredom was kicking in,” Zalatoris was quick to point out “it’s been a great switch.” While one tournament with a new wand is a small sample size, it’s difficult to argue with that sentiment so far. Will Zalatoris putter specs Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 prototype Loft: 5.5 degrees Lie angle: 70 degrees Length: 42.5 inches

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