8 £5EW BETS
ADAM LONG 150/1 SKYBET 8PL
ERIK VAN ROOYEN 70/1 PP 8PL
KELLY KRAFT 175/1 BOYLE 8PL
VINCE WHALEY 80/1 PP 8PL
CHRIS KIRK 35/1 WH 8PL
BEAU HOSSIER 25/1 PP 8PL
CALLUM TARREN 66/1 PP 8PL
CARSON YOUNG 175/1 SB 8PL
2 TOP 20 BETS £10 EACH
AUSTIN COOK 9/1 BET365
CAMERON PERCY 8/1 BET365
TOTAL BET £100
THE WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY
It’s not often a PGA TOUR event is played at a different golf course year-over-year.
But this year’s World Wide Technology Championship is set for something totally new – and the designer is getting his TOUR debut, too.
This is the second playing of the World Wide Technology Championship this season, but the first at Tiger Woods’ first design, El Cardonal Golf Course at Diamante. It’s the first time the PGA TOUR will host an event at a Woods-designed layout. This also is the TOUR’s third stop in Mexico this season, after the Mexico Open at Vidanta, won by Tony Finau, was played in April.
THE HISTORY
Originally an alternate event in late winter, the tournament was played the same week as the WGC Match Play event in Arizona. Mayakoba was part of the FedEx Cup, but only earned half the points of a regular event. The prize fund in 2007 was US$3.5 million (with a winner’s share of $630,000), making it the richest golf tournament in Mexico.
Fred Funk, a winner four months earlier on the Champions Tour, took the inaugural event in a playoff over José Cóceres of Argentina. Funk was 50 years, 257 days of age and became the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event in nearly 32 years; Art Wall was about eleven months older when he won the Greater Milwaukee Open in July 1975.
In 2013, the event was moved to mid-November to be part of the 2014 season as a primary event in the early part of the season, which began in October for the first time.The tournament now offered full FedEx Cup points, a Masters invitation, and a large purse increase (over 60%, to $6 million). With the tour’s new schedule, the Mayakoba event was not part of the abbreviated 2013 season.
The Golf Classic is allocated four additional sponsor exemptions designated for players of Spanish or Mexican heritage from Latin America, South America, Spain, or Mexico.
In 2021, World Wide Technology was announced as the new title sponsor of the event, in a deal lasting until 2027.
EL CARDONAL GOLF CLUB
In 2014, Diamante opened up Tiger Woods’ first golf course —El Cardonal—adding to both Diamante’s and Los Cabos’s reputations as world-class golf destinations.
Influenced by the old-style courses of Southern California where he grew up playing, Tiger created a course that brings back the need for strategy—providing players with several shot options to navigate during each hole. The course is long enough to challenge expert players, but open enough to provide options for those with higher handicaps. It truly is a fun test for golfers of all skill levels.
“I set up the golf strategy to make golfers think and make choices. Regardless of your handicap, there are going to be different ways to play every hole. Angles of approach are going to be very important and will dictate the type of shots you should consider. I love this kind of golf.”—Tiger Woods.
With dramatic long-range views of the Pacific Ocean, natural arroyos, mature vegetation, native dunes and Diamante’s signature service, this Tiger Woods–designed course at Diamante is a challenging and rewarding golf experience that you’ll want to play again and again.
PAST RESULTS
2022 Russell Henley 261 -23 4 strokes
2021 Viktor Hovland 261 −23 4 strokes
2020 Viktor Hovland 264 −20 1 stroke
2019 Brendon Todd 264 −20 1 stroke
2018 Matt Kuchar 262 −22 1 stroke
2017 Patton Kizzire 265 −19 1 stroke
2016 Pat Perez 263 −21 2 strokes
2015 Graeme McDowell 266 −18 Playoff Jason Bohn/Russell Knox
2014 Charley Hoffman 267 −17 1 stroke
2013 Harris English 263 −21 4 strokes
OUR PICKS
ADAM LONG 150/1
At this price we are on it here folks and he could be the ticket to that massive start we need for November.
With one PGA Tour win under his belt already and with a weaker field here this week he could get number two that’s for sure.
He ticks everything to shoot it well around here:
- Distance off the tee and great total driving numbers
- SG Putting inside the top 50 PGA Tour
- Putting Master Class on Paspalum Greens
His form coming in is ok but again this has been against some very strong fields. With this being pretty much a desert report type course and from some of the lines he has been taken this week of some holes during practice he is going to be lots of fun to watch for us this week.
Oh and his last win 2019 at the Desert Classic beating Hadwin in a playoff.
ERIK VAN ROOYEN 70/1
One of our good friends from the European tour who is now making a name for himself finally on the PGA Tour.
If there was ever a course built your Erik then this is it!!
At these odds as well WOW!!
Form coming in box ticked:
Omega 8TH – Irish Open 16TH – Fortinet 30TH – Sandersons 16TH – Shriners 23RD
The team have looked through his previous wins and again it ticks so many boxes. What stood out for me was his win on the Challenge Tour beating Tapio by two shots at the Hainan Open. That course and set up back in 2017 is so close to being a very good match to this week’s event.
He is a Birdie monster and reckon he will be flying away with the lead he goes on FIRE.
One to watch my NAP of the week.
PLAYERS WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING
CHRIS KIRK 35/1
BEAU HOSSIER 25/1
CALLUM TARREN 66/1
CARSON YOUNG 175/1
TOP 20 BETS
AUSTIN COOK 9/1
CAMERON PERCY 8/1
KELLY KRAFT 175/1
This guy is straight off the bat and will be one of our very own inside the ropes picks here this week. Not many will have this guy on their betting slips so this is why he is around 200 to one in places.
So let’s take a look at his season so far, mixed bag with plenty of missed cuts. In the middle of these missed cuts is something we liked the look of at the Corales Puntacana Championship he started steady only to nearly miss the cut throwing in a very average 73 on the Friday but then the weekend golf was very special. Shooting two rounds of 68 to close in a tie for 16TH.
His stats of course are not great reading with all these missed cuts but we like his current form right now he has never been striking the ball better and putting as good as this for years.
- Wyndham 33RD
- Fortinet 25TH
- Sandersons 16TH
- Shriners 23RD
The game we do like, it fits very well here and he could finally get that first PGA Tour win.
VINCE WHALEY 80/1
This is our pick from the Korn Ferry Tour.
We know his team well and worked with his group for the whole week at the AdventHealth Championship. He started pretty slow that week shooting two 71’s we then spend time with him on the range Friday evening as he had plenty to work on. We were impressed with his overall work process and it showed because he came out on the Saturday and Sunday shooting some amazing golf to close inside the top ten for that week.
Since then he has also come close to winning the Boise Open at the end of August on the Korn Ferry, but what has also impressed us has been the recent form on the PGA Tour:
- Fortinet 25TH
- Sandersons 28TH
- Shriners 13TH
He has not played enough yet on the PGA Tour to gain any real numbers but with the use of our trackman we were happy with his performances of late for him to be included in the running here this week.
I also like a top 10-20 bet here or could be a very good draft team pick.
