Please, approach with caution: short game will spell success
The West Coast swing on the 2019 PGA Tour schedule is complete and prior to kicking off the Florida swing, we take a trip down to Mexico City and Club de Golf Chapultepec for the first World Golf Championship of the season.
The championship features a limited field of basically the top 72 players in the world rankings, and there is no 36-hole cut. Automatic qualifiers Justin Rose, Jason Day, Adam Scott, and J.B. Holmes have decided not to attend while Adam Hadwin, Si Woo Kim, and Brandt Snedeker have turned down invitations. Tiger Woods is competing this week. It will be his first time playing the course.
The golf course is a tree-lined par 71 that has been around for over 90 years. The surfaces are the same as last week at Riviera Country Club — Kikuyu Grass fairways and a combination of Poa Annua and Bent Grass on the greens.
One would think because of the elevation the bombers would have a huge advantage here, but that is not entirely the case. Accuracy off of the tee is important due to the heavily wooded areas lining the fairways. Many of the players will employ a three-wood or irons off of the tee, still producing good length in the thin air, but also prioritizing keeping their ball in play and out of the trees. The greens have a great deal of undulation, so not only is hitting them in regulation important but also hitting them in the most advantageous quadrants. Greens in regulation, hole proximity, strokes gained: approach, scrambling, and putting should ultimately decide this championship.
THE PLAYS
Justin Thomas (10/1): Thomas was second here last year, losing in a playoff to Phil Mickelson, and fifth in 2017. He finished second last week at Riviera. He leads the Tour in strokes gained: approach, is 38th in strokes gained: putting, and 62nd in scrambling. It’s a short price, but it may not be short enough as he is emerging as a real horse for this course. Marc Leishman (30/1): Being from Australia, Leishman is very familiar with Kikuyu and Poa Annua and it showed up last week with his fourthplace finish at Riviera, where his short game flourished. For the week, he was fourth in strokes gained: approach and 10th in strokes gained: putting. He ranks fifth and 16th in those categories, respectively, and is also fifth in scrambling. Webb Simpson (35/1): This will be Simpson’s second time playing here after finishing 37th last year. He is second on Tour in strokes gained: approach, 69th in putting, and fourth in scrambling. He already has two top-10 finishes this season and six straight top 20s ... and he comes in off of two weeks rest. Kevin Kisner (100/1): Kisner took 11th in his debut at Chapultepec and finished 29th last year. He comes in off of two straight top-30 finishes and a week of rest after skipping Riviera. His strength has always been the short game, ranking 45th on Tour in scrambling and 37th in strokes gained: putting. In a field of just 72 players, one of the best short games in the world, at a course that demands such, would seem to have a better chance than 100/1.