By Walker Polivka
The PGA Tour season continues this week as it visits the El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba for the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Read on below to see our prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as our top 10, dark horse, and player to fade predictions.
Player to Fade: Isidro Benitez- Making his 4th career PGA Tour start this week, Benitez has been far from impressive, missing the cut in all 4 of his previous starts and failing to shoot a round in the 60’s in all 8 rounds. Benitez previously played in this event in 2020 and missed the cut after shooting rounds of 80 and 74. Benitez most recently played on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, where he earned 2 top 10’s and 4 top 25’s in 10 starts last season. Playing on a Designated Sponsor’s Exemption this week, we predict that Benitez will be a non-factor and easily miss the cut.
Dark Horse: Justin Lower- Lower has quickly gotten off to a fast start this season, with 2 top 10’s and 3 top 20’s in 4 starts. Making his first start in this event, Lower has had past success playing at tropical-style courses, finishing T-17 in last season’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, T-15 in last season’s Corales Puntacana Championship, and T-8 in last week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship. To succeed this week, going low is a must, as the winner has finished at -17 each of the last 9 years. Lower fits the bill well, ranking 3rd in Total Birdies made, having already made 80 birdies on the young season. A win isn’t that far-fetched based on his recent play, but a top 20 feels like a lock.
Top 10: Scottie Scheffler- Scheffler had a season to remember this past go around on the PGA Tour, with 4 wins, 11 top 10’s and 18 top 25’s in 25 starts, including his first career major win at The Masters Tournament, on the way to a T-2 finish in the FedEx Cup Standings. Scheffler has had past success in this event, finishing in the top 20 in both of his 2 previous starts here, highlighted by a 4th place finish last season. Scheffler finished T-45 in his lone start so far this season at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina, but now that the rust has been knocked off, he will be ready to contend. We predict that Scheffler will be in the mix all week as he picks up his first top 10 finish of the season.
Winner: Brendon Todd- Todd is another player who has gotten off to a fast start this season, with 2 top 10’s and 3 top 30’s in 4 starts. Winner of this event back in 2019, Todd has played very well here over the years, with 1 win, 2 top 10’s, and 3 top 15’s in 6 career starts. There aren’t many holes in Todd’s game right now, as he is ranked inside the top 50 in 5 of the 6 major Strokes Gained categories and is ranked 17th in Birdie Average, averaging 4.79 birdies per round. Todd’s last victory on the PGA Tour came right here back in 2019 and we predict that he will step back into the winner’s circle again on Sunday with a victory in Mayakoba!