A good mix of veterans and young players head the field for this week’s stop on the PGA Tour, which heads south of the border to Mexico for the playing of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, one of the last stops before the Tour goes on winter break. Many of the Tour’s high-profile players will be absent leaving Rickie Fowler as the headliner. And he has some unfinished business at the El Camaleon Golf Club after finishing second by a stroke in last year’s event. Fowler opened as the betting favorite at BookMaker.eu at +725 with Tony Finau ( +1400 ) and Jordan Spieth ( +1485 ) further down the list. There are also some intriguing matchups to wager on and we’ll exam a few of them more closely.
2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic Matchup Odds
Beau Hossler -105 vs. Luke List -115
Sam Ryder -115 vs. Adam Hadwin -105
Kevin Kisner -120 vs. Patrick Rodgers +100
Matt Kuchar -130 vs. J.B. Holmes +110
Bill Haas -140 vs. Cameron Davis +120
Bronson Burgoon -105 vs. Keith Mitchell -115
Abraham Ancer -115 vs. Ryan Moore -105
Joaquin Niemann -120 vs. Scott Piercy +100
Chris Kirk -110 vs. Martin Laird -110
Gary Woodland -120 vs. Emiliano Grillo +100
Emiliano Grillo -135 vs. Aaron Wise +115
Billy Horschel -135 vs. Si Woo Kim +115
Billy Horschel -140 vs. Cameron Champ +120
Zach Johnson -115 vs. Charles Howell III -105
C.T. Pan -115 vs. Chez Reavie -105
Kevin Chappell -115 vs. Charley Hoffman -105
Sam Burns +105 vs. Harold Varner III -125
Pat Perez -120 vs. Sungjae Im +100
J.J. Spaun -115 vs. Denny McCarthy -105
Danny Lee -115 vs. Jamie Lovemark -105
Tony Finau -125 vs. Jordan Spieth +105
Si Woo Kim +100 vs. Cameron Champ -120
Rickie Fowler -140 vs. Tony Finau +120
Rickie Fowler -175 vs. Jordan Spieth +155
Gary Woodland -170 vs. Aaron Wise +150
Need to Know
The course is relatively short and will play right around 7,000 yards or lower. Historically we’ve seen golfers that are more accurate off the tee win here, so look at players who rank highly in driving accuracy. Of course there are exceptions, but this is the norm at El Camaleon. The layout is forgiving with wide fairways and easy-to-reach greens. But stray off the tee and scores can spike quickly with hazards on the outer edges. Weather can be and has been a factor on this course and there’s the possibility of showers and wind over the weekend, which will certainly impact scores and possibly tournament length.
2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic Matchup Picks
J.J. Spaun -115 vs. Denny McCarthy -105
Spaun’s game is perfect for the layout of this course and that should buy him a few extra strokes in this matchup. He favors accuracy over distance and has had his most success on correlated courses with three of his eight career top-10s on courses that closely resemble El Camaleon. That doesn’t mean he’s going to win the tournament or even place, but the familiarity is a huge plus. His recent form is solid with top-15s at his most recent outings.
Charles Howell III -105 vs. Zach Johnson
Howell appears to be hitting his stride heading into this competition. Coming off a share of fifth at the CIMB Classic where he scored four sub-70 rounds and led the field with a 90.3 percent GIR. He’s also shown fine form here with a T4 last year and T7 in 2016, scoring 70 or lower in each of his eight rounds. Johnson, meanwhile, is making his first start and has failed to crack the top-10 in his last 12 starts. He placed outside the top-20 here last year and should be faded in this matchup.
Cameron Davis +120 vs. Bill Haas
He’s a longshot to win the tournament and he’s a longhsot in this matchup, but Davis is a rising star and has the potential to be one of the best on the Tour. He’s played this course before and had success, helping Australia win the Eisenhower trophy a few years ago. He also grabbed a share of 15th with a 12-under total in 2016 when OHL sponsored the show. He also has an Australian Open title and for top-5s on the Web.com Tour on his resume. He’s coming off a T28 at last week’s Shriners carding three rounds under 70.
Billy Horschel -135 vs. Si Woo Kim
The odds are long and I typically like to stay away from them, but Horschel is the closest thing to a lock as there is, and why pass on a (somewhat) sure thing. Another hand-in-glove fit on this course, Horschel ranked in the top-20 in driving accuracy and GIR last Tour season and both of those areas come in handy when trying to score low on El Camaleon. He ended last season with six top-10s and is coming off 4-under T11 finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Golf Betting Odds
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