Yahoo DFS Golf: World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba Picks and Strategy

World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba

Riviera Maya, Mexico
El Camaleon Golf Course - Par 71 - 7,034 yards
Field - 132 entrants
Purse - $8.2M

The Preview

In his first appearance since ceding the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking to Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler headlines this week's top-heavy field in Mexico as El Camaleon Golf Course once again plays host to the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. A solid chunk of this field is slated to advance through the 36-hole cut with a reduced 132-entrant player pool in attendance, but it'll take a plethora of par breakers to contend by tournament's end as this 7,034-yard layout features several easy par-3s and a trio of scorable par-5s. It's one of the rare venues where length takes a backseat to simply keeping the ball in play off the tee, while approach proximity becomes key in racking up birdie and eagle chances on these slow paspalum greens. Aside from the potential for a couple isolated thunderstorms, the weather should allow for the leaders to flirt with the 20-under-par mark come Sunday afternoon.

Recent Champions

2021 - Viktor Hovland
2020 - Viktor Hovland
2019 - Brendon Todd
2018 - Matt Kuchar
2017 - Patton Kizzire
2016 - Pat Perez
2015 - Graeme McDowell
2014 - Charley Hoffman
2013 - Harris English
2012 - John Huh

Key Stats to Victory

SG: Approach
Birdie or Better percentage
SG: Putting
Driving accuracy

Yahoo Value Picks

Based on $200 salary cap

Cream of the Crop

Viktor Hovland - $44

Seeking a three-peat in Mexico, the back-to-back champion is a collective 43-under-par throughout his last 144 holes at El Camaleon. Over his past 24 measured rounds, Hovland ranks second among this week's field in par-4 efficiency and fourth in Birdie or Better percentage.

Billy Horschel - $41

Horschel tied for seventh at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina less than two weeks ago during his first start of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, notably finishing third in SG: Approach at Congaree Golf Club where he gained at least a full stroke with his irons in all four rounds. He's made the cut in four straight trips to Mayakoba, which is a stretch that includes consecutive top-10s here in 2019 and 2020.

Aaron Wise - $41

Wise earned runner-up honors at El Camaleon in 2020 when he fired a final-round 63 to fall just one shot shy of the aforementioned Hovland, though Wise paced the entire field in par-5 scoring while adding a pair of eagles that week. He's now fresh off a sixth-place result at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina where he got hot with the flat stick, ranking fifth in SG: Putting and T6 in putts per GIR at Congaree.

Glue Guys

Tom Hoge - $35

Hoge's iron play has been stellar throughout the fall series while rising to No. 1 in SG: Approach and fourth in proximity over his last 24 rounds, but the putter also has cooperated as of late with 13.3 strokes gained on the greens across four measured events since the TOUR Championship. He's yet to finish worse than 13th this season, and his track record at Mayakoba includes a T3 in 2020 when he ranked top-12 among the field in both GIR percentage and putting average.

Emiliano Grillo - $32

Prior to a missed cut here last year, Grillo had already racked up a quartet of top-15 finishes in his first five appearances at El Camaleon. Aside from a tough week on the greens in his most recent start at THE CJ CUP, Grillo has been putting the lights out since early July, especially by his standards. Additionally, he's fourth in Birdie or Better percentage, sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green and 14th in par-5 efficiency over his last 36 rounds.

Thomas Detry - $31

Although the Mayakoba field is much stronger at the very top compared to what we saw in Bermuda last week, Detry's salary shouldn't take an $11 hit all the way down to $31 after securing a runner-up finish at Port Royal. Detry rattled off four consecutive rounds of 68 or better at the Bermuda Championship, tallying 23 birdies in the process. He also posted a top-25 in his Mayakoba debut last year, again reaching at least 20 total par-breakers.

Bargain Bin

Justin Lower - $24

Similar to Detry's case, Lower came through for us in Bermuda with a T8 at $34, but he now experiences a $10 salary drop due to the increased competition at the top of the board. This lends another easy opportunity to target Lower, who ranks second to none in Prox: 150-175 yards, fourth in SG: Putting and seventh in par-4 efficiency over his last 24 measured rounds. Lower owns three top-20 results in four starts dating to the season opener and hasn't missed a cut since the 3M Open in July.

Lee Hodges - $22

Nobody has been better from 175-200 yards over their last 24 rounds than Hodges, who also ranks sixth in SG: Approach, 12th in Opportunities Gained and 14th in par-4 efficiency during this span. Hodges most recently gained 4.2 strokes with his irons at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina, notably hitting 32 of 36 greens in regulation throughout the first two rounds en route to a T7 finish.

Hayden Buckley - $21

Buckley rebounded from a missed cut at the Fortinet Championship by notching three straight top-20s from the Sanderson Farms Championship through the ZOZO Championship, ascending to second in Opportunities Gained, seventh in driving accuracy and seventh in par-5 efficiency over his last 12 measured rounds. He hasn't lost strokes off the tee in a single event since the Valero Texas Open in early April, and he finished the 2021-22 campaign ranked 15th in both GIR and FIR percentage.