The PGA Tour heads south of the border for this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta, which begins Thursday at Vidanta Vallarta.
It’s the third playing of the event, where Tony Finau is the defending champion. There is a lot on the line for players trying to get into the field for the next signature event at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite props along with best bets to win this week.
MEXICO OPEN AT VIDANTA
Location: Vallarta, Mexico, Feb. 22-25
Course: Vidanta Vallarta (Par 71, 7,456 yards)
Purse: $8.1M (Winner: $1.458M)
Defending Champion: Tony Finau
FedEx Cup Leader: Matthieu Pavon
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @MexicoOpenGolf
PROP PICKS
–Thomas Detry, Emiliano Grillo, Doug Ghim to Make Cut (+150 at DraftKings): With only one top 25 player in the field, we’re seeking value in a parlay. After four consecutive missed cuts, Ghim has gone T13 and T12 in his past two starts. Detry has a T4 at Pebble Beach among three consecutive made cuts, while Grillo is the most accomplished of the trio. The Argentinian has made all six cuts to begin 2024 and finished T5 in this event last year.
–Stephan Jaeger Top German (-250 at BetMGM): The odds aren’t great on the surface, but neither is Jaeger’s lone competition in this prop. Matti Schmid (+200) has missed four consecutive cuts to begin 2024, five overall on the PGA Tour and failed to make the weekend here last year. Jaeger did fail to make the cut at Pebble Beach, but that was on the heels of a T3 at Torrey Pines and he finished T18 in Mexico a year ago.
–Brandon Wu to Beat Keith Mitchell (+114 at DraftKings): We’re going horses for courses with this one. Mitchell is ranked 73rd in the world to Wu’s 126th and is coming off a T17 at the Phoenix Open, where Wu missed the cut. However, Mitchell didn’t play in Mexico last year while Wu finished solo third following a T2 at Vidanta in 2022.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 10-11
BEST BETS
–Tony Finau (+800 at BetMGM) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 24 as he seeks to successfully defend a title for the first time. He also finished T2 at Vidanta in 2022. Finau leads the field with 6.3 percent of the total bets and 15.0 percent of the money backing him to win, making him the book’s third-biggest liability this week. He has also been the clear favorite at DraftKings, where Finau leads the field with 28 percent of the money backing him at +850.
–Nicolai Hojgaard (+1600) has made three consecutive cuts to begin his PGA Tour career, including a runner-up at Torrey Pines. He has yet to win on tour, but is BetMGM’s biggest liability this week as Hojgaard has been backed by 4.9 percent of the bets and 12.7 percent of the money since opening at +1800.
–Grillo (+2200) enters the week ranked 40th in the world and has enjoyed a very solid start to 2024. His best finish of the year to date is a T7 against another modest field at the Sony Open in January.
–Taylor Pendrith (+2500) posted a T9 in his last start at Torrey Pines — one of three top 10s to go with a pair of missed cuts in his past five events. The go-big-or-go-home Canadian tied for 30th in Mexico last year and is BetMGM’s second-biggest liability this week, having drawn 8.3 percent of the total money.
–Patrick Rodgers (+3300) has a pair of top 10s in the event the past two years.
NOTES
–The winner this week will earn a spot in all five remaining signature events of 2024. If the winner is not a current PGA Tour member, he must accept membership after the event to be eligible.
–Vidanta Vallarta was designed by current LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
–Will Gordon and Will Zalatoris withdrew from the event and were replaced by Ryan Palmer and Scott Piercy.
–There are eight players from Mexico in the field, including PGA Tour rookie Raul Pereda.
–Field Level Media