Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta

2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta Fantasy Sleeper Report

Although the Zurich Classic isn’t exactly the most glamorous of PGA TOUR events, it will live long in the memory of Davis Riley and Nick Hardy.

The pair, friends for more than a decade, teamed up in New Orleans and simultaneously claimed their maiden PGA TOUR titles – with a tournament record score of -30, too.

There were handshakes and chest bumps all round and why not? What a moment it must have been for the two old buddies. Next on the agenda will be winning a ‘proper’ PGA TOUR event….

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That could have happened at the Mexico Open this week, although it appears that both men – despite on the entry list – have now withdrawn. Those must have been some celebrations.

Or maybe they just didn’t fancy taking on Jon Rahm, fresh from his Masters glory, at a tournament that he won 12 months ago?

The Spaniard left it late last year, birdieing the 14th hole on Sunday and then playing error-free for the next four holes to post a score of -17. Tony Finau, Kurt Kitayama and Bandon Wu all had chances to force a playoff, but to no avail.

Finau is the obvious candidate to dethrone Rahm in Mexico this week, alongside the in-form Wyndham Clark, Alex Noren, Gary Woodland and Nicolai Hojgaard, who could celebrate being handed temporary PGA TOUR membership in fine style.

If nothing else, the players will enjoy a week of fine weather at one of the most forgiving courses on the rotation. Vidanta is the work of Greg Norman, and like many of his PGA TOUR layouts it’s very much there for the taking with wide-open fairways, easy to hold greens and little in the way of hazards to worry about.

Norman seems to have decided that length is the best defense for modern day golf courses, and at 7,455 yards for its Par 71 Vidanta certainly has that. But generous conditions off the tee ensure that the length is negated somewhat by the bombs being hit, and really the Mexico Open will be won by the player that approaches the best from the 175-225 yard range and then makes some putts on the grainy Paspalum greens.

Any takers on Rahm at odds of 3/1? It’s a remarkably short price, if not wholly unjustified, but even so it’s still a leap of faith at a layout that doesn’t exactly test the skill of the players to any great extent.

Instead, it’s perhaps worth taking a chance on some longer-odds fancies. And that’s what we’ve done in our 2023 Mexico Open sleeper shortlist.

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Andrew Putnam – 50/1 – The uptick in Andrew Putnam’s approach play lately has been stratospheric, although he has been unable to take full advantage of that due to a downturn with the flat stick.

But he is, usually, a reliable putter, and so if he can return to his baseline on the greens – and maintain his improvement approaching them – the ingredients for a strong showing are there.

Putnam used to love the Latin America swing on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning in Panama and finishing second in Colombia. A trip south of the border surely won’t faze him at all.

Emiliano Grillo – 50/1 – By his relatively high standards (he was once ranked 23rd in the world), Emiliano Grillo has had a poor season.

But T7 at the RBC Heritage last time out hints at an improvement, and that came about largely as a result of quality in his short game – usually a rarity for the Argentine.

At his best, Grillo is an outstanding ball-striker, and a player that has performed well in far-flung climes such as Puerto Rico, Malaysia and Dubai in the past should take to the small but noticeable differences when playing golf in Mexico as opposed to America.

Alex Smalley – 55/1 – Although his recent formline looks to be a mixed bag, Alex Smalley is a better player than that suggests and has an ace up his sleeve: he has an excellent record on Paspalum greens.

T2 at the Corales Puntacana last year, Smalley also banked a T6 finish here at Vidanta 12 months ago, so this seems to be a surface in which his putting improves to the point he is able to compete at the top of leaderboards.

Despite missing his last two cuts, Smalley put up green numbers on approach in both and the wide-open spaces at Vidanta will suit his long but occasionally erratic driving.

Aaron Rai – 55/1 – Aaron Rai continues to deliver ball-striking quality, gaining strokes on the field in five of his last six outings off the tee and in four of those on approach.

Solving those pesky putting woes is the next item on the agenda for the Brit, but maybe a switch to bumpier and grainier greens will provide that? After all, this is a guy that has won in Kenya and Hong Kong – not nations known for the purity of their greens.

T15 at Mayakoba in 2021, the hope is that Rai enjoys his reunion with Paspalum greens this week.

Patton Kizzire – 90/1 – It feels like a lifetime ago that Patton Kizzire won on Mexican soil at the 2017 OHL Classic.

It must feel like an eternity for him too, seeing as though he’s rarely hit those heights since, but he’s striking the ball nicely right now and he will surely enjoy a return to Mexico given the fruits it has served him in the past.

T10 at the Valspar Championship, Kizzire is another that thrives in that 200+ yard range and he should outplay his odds this week.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Mexico Open at Vidanta here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

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