After a rain-soaked week in Bermuda, the PGA Tour heads to Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Viktor Hovland took down Aaron Wise by a single shot last season for his second win on the PGA Tour.
This year, Hovland will have to fight off a solid field to repeat as champion. Former world No. 1s Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are making the trip, both looking to jump-start their 2021-22 campaign with a win. Thomas finished T-12 at this event last season, while Koepka missed the cut. The four-time major champion hasn’t finished inside the top 35 yet this season.
El Camaleón Golf Course will play as a par 71, hovering around 7,017 yards throughout the week as the yardage is subject to change.
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2021 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba: Fantasy Golf Top 10
Pat Perez (+9000)
Starting with Perez, this pick would give you some extra cap space to work with for the rest of your roster and is a bit of a flyer. This is a pure “horses for courses” play – in his last five starts here Perez has a win, two other top 10s, and hasn’t missed a cut.
Billy Horschel (+3000)
Horschel hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since the Tour Championship but won on the European Tour at the BMW PGA Championship. He’s played in this event the last three seasons, improving his finish each time: T-21 (2018), T-8 (2019), T-5 (2020). Horschel also owns the lowest cumulative score at this golf course over the last three years (43 under).
Aaron Wise (+3000)
Aaron Wise tees off on the 4th hole during the third round of the Honda Classic. (Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
Wise’s last three starts on the PGA Tour: T-26, T-8, T-5. He’s played well here in the past finishing solo second to Hovland last season, as well as a T-10 in 2018. In an event where the winning score will likely be around 20 under, Wise ranks ninth on Tour this season in birdie average (5.5).
Justin Thomas (+1200)
With Paspalum greens this week, Strokes Gained: Approach will cause more variation than SG: Putting – AKA the best-case scenario for Thomas. He finished inside the top 20 a few weeks ago in Vegas at a low-scoring event and tied for 12th last season at Mayakoba. He hasn’t won since the Players, but four of his 14 Tour wins have come during the short “wrap-around” season. Shouldn’t surprise anyone if he captures No. 15 this weekend.
Scottie Scheffler (+3000)
The Texan is giving himself a lot of chances to put circles on the scorecard, hitting 75 percent of greens this season. In turn, he ranks sixth in birdies per round (5.83), but is 175th in scoring average (72.12). In laymen’s turns, he’s making too many mistakes. If he keeps the bogeys to a minimum this week, watch out for Scheffler to earn his first win.
Viktor Hovland (+2000)
Impossible to keep the defending champion off this list. Hovland, over his last 24 rounds on courses shorter than 7,200 yards, ranks 23rd in SG: Approach. Going back to last season, Hovland ranked sixth in birdie average, again something that will come in handy this week.
Cameron Tringale (+3000)
Talk about a guy who’s due. Despite earning over $15 million over his career, he’s yet to win. In five starts this season, Tringale has three finishes of T-22 or better including a runner-up in his last start (Zozo Championship). In his last 24 rounds on the PGA Tour on courses measuring under 7,200 yards, Tringale ranks 19th in SG: Approach, and seventh in SG: Total. Could this finally be the week for the native Californian?
Patrick Reed (+4000)
Reed struggled in his first few starts this season missing the cut at the Shriners, and finishing nearly last at the CJ Cup. But, last week he bounced back in a big way finishing in a tie for second in Bermuda. Reed ranks eighth in SG: Total over his last 24 rounds on courses shorter than 7,200 yards. In 2017, the Texan missed the cut at this event.
Russell Henley (+5000)
Henley has missed the cut in his last two appearances at this event but scored a T-29 finish in 2017. However, his stats so far this season point to a solid week. First in driving accuracy, first in greens in regulation, and ninth in birdie average. Some may worry about his length off the tee, but at El Camaleón, it shouldn’t hurt him. Finally, over his last 24 rounds on the PGA Tour on courses less than 7,200 yards, Henley is third in SG: Approach, and seventh in SG: Tee to Green.
Harold Varner III (+5000)
Varner has played great golf to start the new season: T-16 (Fortinet), T-11 (Sanderson Farms), T-32 (CJ Cup). He’s made three straight cuts at this event, highlighted by a T-6 finish back in 2018. Over his last 24 rounds on courses shorter than 7,200 yards, Varner ranks 12th in SG: Approach. If he can get it going on the greens, Varner may win for the first time on Tour.
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