Patrick Reed tunes out critics, comes from behind to win WGC-Mexico

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reviews Patrick Reed’s win at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reviews Patrick Reed’s win at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Jon Rahm leaps up leaderboard after record-setting ‘lucky day’ at WGC-Mexico Championship

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses the third round at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses the third round at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

WGC-Mexico Championship live updates, scores, tee times

The first World Golf Championship event of 2020 is here with the WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City.

[jwplayer INANcwZ4-9JtFt04J]

The first World Golf Championship event of 2020 is here.

It’s the WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, the fourth year in a row the club will host this event.

Resting 7,800 feet above sea level, the tree-lined, 7,345-yard, par-71 layout is a field of dreams for the long ball, where drives exceed 400 yards, 6-irons hit the 250-yard sign and 8-irons top two bills.

In fact, Bryson DeChambeau unloaded a 397-yard drive earlier in the week.

Tiger Woods is out, as he’s skipping the event. But Adam Scott, who won last week at Riviera at the Genesis Invitational, is playing.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is in the field, too. McIlroy was asked about a new golf league and he clearly has given plenty of consideration to it.

In all, 19 countries are represented in the tournament.

WGC-MEXICO: Tee times, TV info | Leaderboard | Podcast

Follow along for updates.

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Fantasy Golf Power Rankings for the WGC-Mexico Championship

Analyzing the best fantasy golf options for the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Club de Golf Chapultepec hosts the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for the fourth straight year and eight of the top-10 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings are in attendance. All 72 members of the field will play all four rounds, barring withdrawal, at the no-cut event. Here, we break down the best fantasy golf picks for the WGC-Mexico Championship.

WGC-Mexico Championship: Fantasy Golf Top 30

February 13, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Dustin Johnson hits from the fourth hole tee box during the first round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)

Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

30. Jordan Spieth

Spieth was T-12 in 2017 and T-14 in 2018 before slipping to T-54 last year. He was coming off a great all-around performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before a dismal tee-to-green display at the Genesis Invitational resulted in a T-59th-place finish.

29. Cameron Smith

Six weeks removed from his win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Smith returns to Mexico following a T-6 last year. He has missed the cut in each of his last two events, but he at least gained 1.9 strokes on approach last week.

28. Danny Willett

Ignore Willett’s T-3 at “this event” in 2016, as it came at Doral Golf Resort in Florida when the tournament was known as the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He also missed the cut last week, but he won the BMW PGA Championship in September to remind people he can still compete in strong fields.

27. Rafa Cabrera Bello

RCB tied for third in 2018 and 19th last year. He had a strong T-17 showing last week after missing the cut at Pebble Beach in his 2020 North American debut.

26. Sungjae Im

Im’s missed cut last week snapped a worldwide streak of 15 straight events in which he played all four rounds dating back to the Open Championship. He’s assured four rounds this week.

Jan 19, 2020; La Quinta, California, USA; Abraham Ancer gestures after finishing his final round of The American Express golf tournament at Stadium course at PGA West. (Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez – USA TODAY Sports)

25. Abraham Ancer

The top golfer in the field from Mexico, Ancer has disappointing results of a T-52 and T-39 in the last two years at this event. He’s coming off of back-to-back strong putting performances, and he has a great approach game.

24. Byeong Hun An

An has been off since a ninth-place finish at the Waste Manage Phoenix Open. Putting, like usual, was his problem, as he ranked among the best in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and SG: Around-the-Green. He’s a great scrambler and is well-equipped for the tight fairways of Chapultepec.

23. Bubba Watson

Watson picked up second- and third-place finishes in the last two years this event was held at Doral. His best showing in three years in Mexico was a T-9 in 2018. He’s coming off a rare missed cut at the Genesis, but it was almost entirely the result of a horrid and uncharacteristic putting performance.

22. Chez Reavie

Reavie is one of the best in the field on SG: Approach, and he’s good from this week’s key proximity distance of 150-175 yards. He has put together back-to-back strong performances to snap a skid of three straight missed cuts.

21. Corey Conners

Conners will make his debut in Mexico following his win at last year’s Valero Texas Open. He’s second in the field in Opportunities Gained and is an expert ball-striker.

20. Kevin Kisner

Kisner’s lone career WGC win was at the 2019 Match Play. He has finished outside the top 25 each of the last two years here following an 11th-place finish in Mexico in 2017.

19. Brandt Snedeker

Snedeker has skipped this event each of the last two years following a T-7 finish in 2017. He missed the cut at Pebble Beach and Phoenix following a third-place result at the Farmers Insurance Open. His approach game and play around the greens has remained strong.

Jul 19, 2019; Portrush, IRL; Tyrrell Hatton reacts to his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush Golf Club – Dunluce Course. (Photo Credit: Ian Rutherford – USA TODAY Sports)

18. Tyrrell Hatton

Hatton will play an event in North America for the first time since The Northern Trust in mid-August. He has since won the Turkish Airlines Open for his fourth career victory and he’ll return to competitive play for the first time since late November.

17. Collin Morikawa

Morikawa has made the cut in all 18 of his PGA Tour events as a professional. He’ll participate in his first WGC event this week, after his first career win came at the alternate Barracuda Championship running the same week as the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

16. Sergio Garcia

Sergio tied for sixth last year following a T-7 in 2018 and a T-12 in 2017. The 2017 Masters champion has never won a WGC event, but he has been a frequent top-10 finisher in no-cut tournaments.

15. Marc Leishman

The Farmers Insurance Open champ returned to competitive play last week and again dominated on approach, gaining 5.3 strokes. He has lost strokes putting in two of his last three events but needs just to be average for a top finish.

14. Matt Kuchar

A co-leader entering Sunday’s final round of the Genesis, Kuch finished as a co-runner-up and enters this week 24th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He hasn’t had much success in Mexico, however, finishing 50th last year and T-58 in 2018 after a T-20 debut in 2017.

Aug 22, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louis Oosthuizen hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of the Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. (Photo Credit: Adam Hagy – USA TODAY Sports)

13. Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen has been playing very well on the European and Australasian Tours and will play in North America for the first time since the 2019 Tour Championship. He finished T-25 last year for his best result in three appearances in Mexico.

12. Patrick Reed

Reed’s best result at Chapultepec also came last year with a T-14 result. He’s an average putter on the Poa Annua surface, but his approach game has been excellent of late.

11. Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau’s debut at this event last year ended with a T-56 result. He tied for fifth last week while gaining 10.6 strokes from tee-to-green and 3.5 strokes on approach.


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10. Paul Casey

Casey tied for third here in 2019 for his best result in this event. He’s generally a poor putter on Poa Annua, but it hasn’t held him back here, and he gained 5.6 strokes on approach last week.

9. Tommy Fleetwood

Fleetwood was the runner-up at this event in 2017, but he slipped to T-14 and T-19 in each of the last two years, respectively. He’ll participate in his first PGA Tour event since a T-53 result at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He has since won the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finished second at both the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

February 13, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Xander Schauffele hits from the tenth hole tee box during the first round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)

8. Xander Schauffele

Schauffele improved on a T-18 result in 2018 to finish T-14 in 2019. His best putting surface has historically been Poa Annua, and he has gained strokes off the tee in seven straight measured events.

7. Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama enters the week ninth in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He has two career wins in WGC events and finished T-19 here last year in his second appearance in Mexico.

6. Webb Simpson

Simpson benefits from the elevation of Chapultepec making it play much shorter than its 7,345-yard measurement. He has finished outside the top 35 each of the last two years, but he hasn’t finished worse than T-30 in 17 stroke-play events since missing the cut at last year’s Valspar Championship.

5. Justin Thomas

Thomas has strangely missed the cut in two of his last three events, but he still has more wins (3) than missed cuts since the US Open. He has finished inside the top 10 in all three years this event has been held in Mexico.

Feb 16, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Adam Scott poses with the winner’s trophy following his victory of the The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)

4. Adam Scott

Scott’s lone Mexico appearance was a T-45 in 2017. He’ll return this week off his win at the Genesis Invitational. His last WGC win – the 2016 Cadillac Championship – came the week after he claimed victory at the Honda Classic.

3. Jon Rahm

Rahm tied for third in 2017, but he slipped to T-20 in 2018 and T-45 last year. He’s a great putter on Poa Annua, but he has struggled around the greens in each of his last two events.

2. Rory McIlroy

McIlroy was the runner-up last year, and he tied for seventh in 2017 but skipped the 2018 event. He’s a top scrambler and is able to escape the trouble of the tight fairways.

1. Dustin Johnson

Johnson has won this event two of the last three years since it moved to Mexico. He has six career WGC titles, including the 2017 Match Play.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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WGC-Mexico Championship odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the golf betting odds to win the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship, with PGA Tour betting odds, picks, predictions and best bets.

Eight of the top 10 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings are in attendance for this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec near Mexico City, Mexico. Below, we’ll analyze the golf betting odds, while making our picks to win the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship.

The key stats for the 7,345-yard, par-71 Club de Golf Chapultepec are:

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Scrambling
  • Opportunities Gained
  • Bogeys Avoided
  • Proximity from 150-175 Yards
  • Par 4 Efficiency: 400-450 Yards

My model at Fantasy National looks at the most recent 24 rounds for each golfer in the field on courses shorter than 7,200 yards. It’s a more accurate depiction of Chapultepec’s length due to the elevation of nearly 1.5 miles above sea level.

WGC-Mexico Championship – Tier 1

Feb 16, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Adam Scott meets with Rory McIlroy following his victory in the final round of the The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Rory McIlroy (+550)

McIlroy, the No. 1 golfer in the world, entered Sunday’s final round of last week’s Genesis Invitational as a co-leader but struggled to a T-5 finish with a final round of 2-over par 73. It was his worst finish in five worldwide events since a T-26 at the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

He leads this week’s stat model in Bogeys Avoided and SG: Scrambling. He was the runner-up to Dustin Johnson last year (by five strokes), and he tied for seventh in 2017.


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Adam Scott (+2000)

Scott’s win last week was his second straight victory after winning the Australian PGA Championship to conclude his 2019 season. The 2013 Masters champion has won two WGC events in his career, including the 2016 Cadillac Championship, which was the former name of this event when played in Doral, Fla. He went back-to-back that year as well, winning the WGC the week after the Honda Classic.

WGC-Mexico Championship – Tier 2

Feb 1, 2020; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Byeong-Hun An tees off on the first during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports)

Byeong Hun An (+6600)

An has played this event two of the last three years, finishing T-48 in 2017 and T-45 last year. He enters the week ranked 40th in the world, but he hasn’t competed since a T-9 finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

He’s one of the best in the field at scrambling and from the key proximity distance. An has lost strokes putting at five straight measured events and just needs to be average with the flat stick.

Tyrrell Hatton (+6600)

Hatton is a strong value play with three straight top-20 finishes at this event in Mexico. He finished alone in 10th in 2017, tied for third in 2018 and tied for 19th last year. He enters the week well-rested, after last appearing at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in late November. He won the Turkish Airlines Open in his second-to-last event for his fourth professional win.


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WGC-Mexico Championship – Longshots

Aug 24, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Chez Reavie plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. (Photo Credit: Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports)

Chez Reavie (+10000)

Reavie has rebounded from a horrid stretch of three straight missed cuts to finish T-25 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and T-10 at last week’s Genesis Invitational. He doesn’t have a strong history at this event with a T-52 finish in 2018 and T-65 last year, but he enters this year’s tournament 13th in the stat model while leaning on a strong approach game.

Sebastian Munoz (+15000)

Munoz opened the Genesis Invitational 69-69 before slipping down the leaderboard over the weekend en route to a T-26 finish. The native of Colombia will make his professional debut at Chapultepec. He already has a win in the 2019-20 PGA Tour season, but only 12 members of the 72-man field have worse odds to win.

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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