The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits Vidanta Vallarta for the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta. Designed by Greg Norman, Vidanta Vallarta is a Par 71, 7,456 yard layout that had been offering wide fairways and large greens since it opened in 2015. The Mexico Open was first contested in 1944, but is in its second year as being a part of the PGA Tour schedule, and now welcomes many of the tour’s best to compete in a very diverse, international field. Last year’s inaugural edition was won by Jon Rahm, who held off Tony Finau, Kurt Kitayama, and Brandon Wu to win by one stroke.
Player to Fade:
Arjun Atwal’s PGA Tour career is pretty much closed now that he is eligible to play on the Champions Tour and this season on the PGA Tour has not yielded much success, as he has 5 missed cuts in 6 starts. Atwal may have hit 79.63% of his greens in regulation so far this season, but is also averaging 1.8 putts per round, which is not a recipe for success at this event. Atwal missed the cut here last year also and is a lock to miss the cut again this week.
Dark Horse:
Ranked 113th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Chez Reavie has put together a solid run of late, with back-to-back top 15 finishes on tour. Reavie finished T-13 in this event last season, so he mostly certainly knows what it takes to get around Vidanta Vallarta. Reavie doesn’t hit the ball a country mile by any means, but is ranked 10th on tour in Driving Accuracy Percentage, which is definitely helpful in getting around a golf course efficiently. Reavie could very well pop off and steal the victory this weekend, but a top 20 finish is certainly realistic.
Top 10:
Wyndham Clark has been having an amazing season so far, with 5 top 10’s and just 2 missed cuts in 17 starts, including top 6 finishes in 3 of his last 4 starts. Fresh off of a 3rd place finish last week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Clark has had minimal success in this event, finishing T-67 here last year. Clark isn’t a particularly flashy player, but his game is solid throughout the bag, as he is ranked 28th in Strokes Gained: Total. Clark is bound to get his first PGA Tour victory soon, but he will most certainly bring home another top 10 finish this week.
Winner:
The hottest player in golf, as well as the defending winner of this event, Jon Rahm is playing lights out right now, with 4 wins, 7 top 10’s, and 0 missed cuts in 11 starts on the PGA Tour this season. Rahm’s game is on point, ranking inside the top 3 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Approach the Green, and Total. It’s tough to bet against Rahm at any given event and this week is no different. If Rahm can overcome the mental burnout following his victory at the Masters, he will find himself hoisting the trophy for the second straight year after winning the Mexico Open at Vidanta!