The PGA Tour is four rounds from completing the 2020 golf calendar year. Think about that for a minute. What along the way seemed so improbable and at times even impossible is now going to take place, and it's going to end with a bang with several top 50 players in the world teeing it up at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
Let's take a closer look at this week's contest, with odds and prop bets provided via William Hill Sportsbook.
Event information
What: Mayakoba Golf Classic
When: Dec. 3-6
Where: El Camaleon Golf Club -- Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Three things to know
1. Double double: Brendon Todd has had a fascinating last 12 months, and he returns to the site of one of his wins last fall that shot him up in the Official World Golf Rankings and led to a tremendous season, the best of his career. It would be pretty amazing if he was able to return to the course where he beat three players by a stroke last year and capped that 12-month run.
2. A Mexican in Mexico: No player from Mexico has ever won this event nor the WGC-Mexico Championship. Carlos Ortiz -- coming off a win in Houston a month ago -- came the closest when he lost to Todd by one last year, and he and Abraham Ancer should have the best look this time around.
3. Fowler and the top 50: I keep beating this drum, but Rickie Fowler teetering on the top 50 in the world and maybe not being eligible for the 2021 Masters is not a small thing. He's currently No. 49, and could drop more if he doesn't have a strong week this week. His finishes of late have been mildly encouraging, but he needs to find a hot streak to jump back where he's lived for the last decade among the top 25 in the world.
Grading the field
We went over this a bit on Monday, but for this tournament -- even with Dustin Johnson recently withdrawing -- it's an elite field. Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are the headliners, but Tony Finau, Abraham Ancer, Viktor Hovland and Rickie Fowler are all interesting draws as well. One unintended benefit of this pandemic is that so many smaller-market golf tournaments, including this one, have been able to host the best fields they have ever seen Grade: A
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Best bets
1. Abraham Ancer top 10 (+200): He's found heaters before, and that performance at Augusta -- even though it fizzled -- should give him tons of confidence. I'm not positive he's a star, but I think Ancer is still pretty underrated and should show well in Mexico.
2. Brooks Koepka to miss the cut (4-1): Koepka should not (and probably will not) miss the cut here, but given his recent injury history and penchant for sometimes checking out of regular PGA Tour events, I think the number should be more like 3-1.
Mayakoba Golf Classic picks
| Winner (13/2): I think 2020 ends like it began: with a J.T. win. It feels like 29 years ago when he won the Tournament of Champions in a playoff, but he's the class of the field and will bookend a very strange year with yet another victory. |
| Top 10 (+175): I bet you didn't think when 2020 started that English would be third in betting odds in this caliber of field. He's been awesome throughout the season and has top 10s in four of his last eight tournaments (including the U.S. Open). Two weeks ago, after missing the Masters, he finished T6 at the RSM Classic. |
| Sleeper (100-1): After doing basically nothing for the last five years in terms of finishes, Huh has been on a nice little run. Two top 20s in his last three starts, and it hasn't just been a hot putting streak. He's striking the ball well and is on a nice number at 100-1. |
