PGA DFS Playbook: Mexico Open at Vidanta

The man is not playing at the top of his game right now.  Rahm has dropped to number three in the world but when you look at this field, he’s the unquestioned best player.  That is a good enough reason for me to roster him at the Mexico Open.  I feel like he’s heard all the talk about his struggles and wants to go out there and dominate.  

I just can’t stay away from this guy playing in his home country.  There are a ton of reason to discount him this weekend from his recent form to the length of this course but I believe.  He’s top 50 in Birdie Average and 61st in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  The approach numbers are not great this season but we know he’s capable of being Top 25 in the world.

When you look at his record this season, he’s performed better at events with a weaker field.  5th place at the Honda, 5th at the Arnold Palmer, 21st at the Valspar, and 8th at the Valero over his last six starts.  He ranks Top 15 in Driving Distance which is a primary reason I love him this weekend.  He’s also Top 50 in Strokes Gained: Approach, Putting, Tee to Green, and Scoring Average.

Tringale has made the cut in his last four starts with back to back Top 15 finishes.  He started the season very boom or bust with four Top 15 finishes with five missed cuts.  He is one of those players who is pretty consistent throughout the bag and no glaring weakness.  Tringale sits Top 20 in Greens in Regulation and also Top 60 in Scoring Average, Strokes Gained: Approach, Around the Greens, and Tee to Green.  He is always a safe option.

We know one thing when it comes to Cameron Champ, the dude can bomb the ball off the tee.  He leads the tour in Driving Distance and Top 20 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  Champ was on a terrible run before spiking a Top 10 at the Masters in his last start.  He isn’t perfect but better than most in this field.  

Jones is another bomber off the tee ranking 34th in Driving Distance.  I’m hoping that his most recent start at the Valero finishing runner up got his game back on track.  The ball striking is still there ranking Top 40 on tour in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green but where he really makes his money is around the greens ranking Top 5.  

We all took notice of Sahith at the Waste Management finishing third on the week.  He followed that up with a Top 10 at the Valspar a few weeks later.  He does rank inside the Top 100 night all of the strokes gained categories outside of putting.  I know that may not seem great but when you look at the field, that’s better than most. 

You may not know much about this kid but he’s starting to make waves.  He actually has two Top 5 finishes in his last four starts.  Riley finished 4th at the Zurich with buddy Will Zalatoris and before that scored a runner up at the Valspar.  He ranks Top 50 in Driving Distance and Top 25 in Birdie Average which are two primary stats we’re looking at this weekend. 

We know that his best days are behind him on the PGA Tour but in a field like this one, here’s a guy we can rely on.  The man can still give it a good poke with the driver averaging 303 off the tee.  Charles also ranks Top 60 in Scoring Average, Birdie Average, Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, Driving Distance and Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  Howell also finished Top 5 just a couple starts ago at the Valero. 

I wrote about the importance of experience on paspalum grass and this guy flourishes on them.  He finished fifth at the Puerto Rico Open and then won the Corales, both on that type of grass.  The fields at those events are not dissimilar to the one we’ll see this weekend in Mexico.  He is not a bomber at all but ranks Top 20 in Birdie Average and has decent approach numbers, more than enough for me to roster him this weekend.

Here’s another guy you may not know a lot about but you’ll learn this week because of the weak field.  He’s made the cut in five of his last eight starts with a high water mark of 11th at the Farmers.  He averages over 300 off the tee and ranks Top 50 in both Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Tee to Green.  You can’t be picky this weekend when looking over the available players.  

We all should know by now that he does two things really well, drive the ball a mile and putt his tail off.  After a tough stretch throughout February and most of March, he’s made the cut in four straight events including a Top 10 last week at the Zurich with Cameron Tringale.  I love his price tag this week because this range is full of uncertainty.

Yes, Alex has had a bad run lately missing three straight cuts but he finished runner up at the Corales which features those paspalum greens.  He is not known for his putting but he looked good that week.  Smalley has had good experience playing along coastlines.  One of the young big hitters on the tour and actually keeps it on the fairway the majority of the time.  He is also 56th in Greens in Regulation on the season.

One of the better players on tour that you don’t know much about.  He has made five of his last six cuts with back to back Top 15 finishes coming into this weekend.  Despite not being one of the bigger hitters on tour he ranks Top 50 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  He also ranks Top 50 in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and Tee to Green.  So many stats but he’s also Top 60 in Greens in Regulation, Birdie Average and Stroke Average.  I like him to be in contention.

It has been a struggle for Peter to keep his PGA Tour card but he did earn it on the Korn Ferry Tour last year.  He has made six straight stroke play cuts between both the Korn Ferry (2) and PGA Tours (4).  We know that Peter can hit the ball a mile but hasn’t been able to keep it on the fairway but that should not be a problem this weekend.  He’ll make for a nice value play this weekend.    

When looking through the bottom of the price sheet, I see something I like here and there but Callum has a mix.  Tarren had success at the Puerto Rico Open with the paspalum greens finishing 5th and he also ranks in the Top 25 in Driving Distance.  You will have to hold your breath and pray with a few of these value plays.  

It has been a rough stretch for Kevin.  He has missed five straight cuts and withdrew from the Valero with a wrist injury.  We know that Tway can hit the hell out of the ball but accuracy has been his Achilles heel.  I’ve mentioned multiple times, distance is vital because there isn’t a lot of punishment for being inaccurate.  At this price tag, I’ll take the shot that he can make the cut with upside.    

Why not throw in a bargain basement option out there?  Jim doesn’t make the cut often in the PGA Tour but when he does, it’s on a coastline/island course with likely paspalum greens.  He made the cut at the Puerto Rico Open, Corales, Sony and Bermuda.  He is ranked outside the Top 700 in the world but ranks number one on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 20th in Strokes Gained: Putting, and 23rd in Birdie Average.