WITH just eight weeks until the world’s finest golfers drive down Magnolia Lane to compete in the Masters it's pretty clear that the golf season is swinging towards top gear.
Last week’s Genesis Invitational boasted the best field of the year, with nine of the world’s top ten involved, and this week represents another step-up in class with the first World Golf Championship of 2020.
For the fourth year in a row the field heads to Chapultepec Country Club for the Mexico Championship and whilst there is no Brooks Koepka or Tiger Woods in attendance, both managing their workload with long term fitness in mind, the field is still heavyweight. Let’s take a look at three lively contenders.
Winner – Jon Rahm 8/1
Back in 2017 the World No. 3 made his WGC debut at this tournament and did so in style, carding a first round 67 to grab a share of the lead and going toe-to-toe with Dustin Johnson all week until finally accepting third. 12 months on he again opened with a 67, but fell back to 20th and, although he didn’t improve on that last year, he has continued to build strong bonds with both the course and the country. “It’s an old style course, very similar to back home in Spain,” he said in 2018. “I love being able to take it over corners, to take risks, because on these courses it gives you a huge advantage.”
He also added: “As a Spanish speaker, and as a Hispanic player with my heritage, this is like a second home tournament. People really welcome me here and I get a lot of support. I think that’s why I remember every shot of my debut.” He ended 2019 in sensational form, grabbing back-to-back wins, and he swiftly added a second at Torrey Pines. After finishing ninth in Phoenix he said: “I was great tee-to-green, but I can’t make a putt to save my life.” Good news, then, that in the process of grabbing 17th last week he ranked fifth for Strokes Gained Putting.
Each Way – Sergio Garcia at 45/1
Asked to describe this week’s challenge you would say that the course is traditionally designed, tightly tree-lined and at altitude – and if you also then thought of the 40-year-old Spaniard you’d be thinking it sounds right up his street (or perhaps calle). Classic set-ups? He loves them. Tight tree-lined tracks at home in Spain? He’s a multiple winner at Valderrama and Club de Campo del Mediterraneo. Playing at altitude? He’s not only a winner in the Alps at Crans-sur-Sierre, he also liked it so much he bought a chalet there.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that he’s racked up three top 12 finishes in this tournament (12th-7th-6th) and has never ended a round (all 12 of them) outside the top 20. Clearly the examination is one he enjoys and he’s even managed to log superb Strokes Gained Putting stats at the course, in addition to the Tee to Green excellence we’ve come to expect from him. The quibble would be that his form is inconsistent; the counter would be that he has three top tens in his last six starts and the up-and-down nature of his recent results has contributed to a tempting price for a golfer who clearly suits the course.
Each Way – Brandt Snedeker at 50/1
Only two men have ever lifted this week’s trophy. In 2017 and 2019 Dustin Johnson claimed the win whilst Phil Mickelson was the champion in 2018 and if the two men have anything in common it would be a fondness for golf on Poa Annua greens in California. Johnson is a two-time winner at Pebble Beach and has four top three finishes, including one win, at Riviera; Mickelson is a multiple winner at Pebble, Torrey Pines and Riviera. Both of them have noted the importance of being attuned to the challenge of the putting surfaces and that angle points to another bumpy grass specialist – 39-year-old Snedeker.
Some might wonder at backing a man who’s missed the cut in his last two outings, but after finishing third at Torrey Pines his hopes were naturally very high heading to Pebble Beach and it’s far from just punters whose expectations become over-extended when course and current form appear set to peak at the right time. His five wins on Poa Annua are very persuasive, especially when allied to the seventh he recorded in his only previous course visit, an effort all the more noteworthy for coming after a first round 75 left him 61st on Thursday night.
