Who would have thought the PGA Tour would have to leave California to find better weather. That’s the case with the West Coast swing put to bed after two weather-delayed tournaments on the coast of the Golden State. The Tour heads even further south this week, continuing its trek from Pebble Beach to Pacific Palisades and now just outside Mexico City for the WGC Mexico Championship.
The field is littered with celebrity status-types. Tiger Woods must be feeling healthy to make his second straight start and defending champ Phil Mickelson will peg it up again. Oddsmakers expect Justin Thomas to regroup after his final round collapse cost him the title at the Genesis Open last week. JT is the betting favorite at +731, but anyone of the 72 players is capable of hoisting the hardware at the end of the week. Below are matchup odds for the event contested at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
WGC Championship Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Branden Grace -114 vs. Kevin Kisner -116
Emiliano Grillo -131 vs. Keegan Bradley +101
Matthew Fitzpatrick -106 vs. Byeong Hun An -124
Thorbjorn Olesen +104 vs. Russell Knox -134
Ian Poulter +109 vs. Henrik Stenson -139
Tyrrell Hatton -206 vs. Matt Wallace +162
Patrick Reed +115 vs. Matt Kuchar -145
Charles Howell III -122 vs. Louis Oosthuizen -108
Francesco Molinari +115 vs. Rafael Cabrera Bello -145
Shane Lowry +110 vs. Billy Horschel -140
Gary Woodland -119 vs. Webb Simpson -111
Patrick Cantlay -153 vs. Bubba Watson +122
Tommy Fleetwood -155 vs. Sergio Garcia +124
Xander Schauffele -132 vs. Phil Mickelson +102
Paul Casey -172 vs. Jordan Spieth +137
Justin Thomas -129 vs. Dustin Johnson -101
Bryson Dechambeau -165 vs. Brooks Koepka +131
Xander Schauffele -133 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +103
Marc Leishman +105 vs. Tony Finau -135
Phil Mickelson -115 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -115
Tiger Woods -148 vs. Brooks Koepka +118
Bryson Dechambeau -136 vs. Tiger Woods +106
Justin Thomas -121 vs. Jon Rahm -109
Dustin Johnson -106 vs. Jon Rahm -124
Need to Know
It’s only the third playing of this WGC in Mexico, so there is still plenty for the field to learn. The biggest obstacle is going to be the elevation, which makes the 7,345-yard Club de Golf Chapultepec layout play much shorter. There aren’t many Tour stops where the field is roughly 7,800 feet above sea level. The shriveling distance takes the drivers out of play and requires the field to handle approach shots on a more sustainable level. With blind tee shots, tree-lined fairways and bumpy greens, the layout is similar to that of Riviera, and players who mastered that track will know what’s coming. The difference will be the conditions. Rain and cold hounded the field last week and that shouldn’t be an issue this time around with near perfect conditions expected.
WGC Mexico Championship Matchup Picks
Jon Rahm -109 vs. Justin Thomas
You might as well put all the names on a wall, take a dart, close your eyes and throw to pick a winner in this event with so much talent lined up. A lot of folks will be drawn to favorites Thomas and Dustin Johnson, and rightfully so. They are two of the hottest players on Tour. But perhaps the most consistent stroker is Rahm, who is 7 for 7 this season with six top-10s. The Spaniard claimed a share of ninth at Riviera last week scoring all four rounds between 67 and 71. He’ll likely need to have a better round or two with this field, but his consistency will keep him near the top. Plus, he’s familiar with the setup here having placed third in 2017 and 20th last year. JT is solid but I think the letdown of last week’s loss carries over, giving Rahm the chance to take this matchup.
Tiger Woods -148 vs. Brooks Koepka +118
History says don’t mess with the Big Cat at a WGC event. But that is history. Tiger hasn’t won a WGC since claiming a pair of titles in 2013. And he hasn’t played this event since it moved to Mexico, so there’s no telling how he adjusts. One thing we do know is that golfers are quick learners and with no cut, Tiger is in play. However, back to back events were something Tiger was trying to avoid and he jumped right into the fire with this one, so I guess he’s feeling healthy enough to compete. Still, it’s a lot to ask of Woods. Koepka has labored since winning the CJ Cup in October, suggesting something is off on his game. He took a few weeks to work out the kinks and at least he’ll be well-rested, giving him a chance to overtake Tiger on the weekend.
Hideki Matsuyama +103 vs. Xander Schauffele
Two players on a run of excellent form make for a solid matchup to watch. The X-Man opened with a 74 last week but stayed the course to finish T15. It was his sixth straight top-25 in official competition. As good as Schauffele has played, you can’t ignore with Matsuyama has done. He finished ahead of his matchup partner at Riviera last week with a T9, his third straight top-15 showing on the Tour. Matsuyama is striking the ball well and his tee-to-green play has been among the best on the Tour allowing him to rank highly in scoring average.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu. The WGC Mexico Championship is scheduled for February 21-24 and can be seen on Golf Channel and NBC.
