The PGA TOUR travels to Mexico this week for the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Since this tournament’s inception three years ago, Vidanta Vallarta (par 71, 7,456 yards, paspalum greens) has been the home of the Mexico Open. Tony Finau is the defending champion of this event — winning by three shots at -24 last season — and John Rahm won the inaugural Mexico Open the previous year at -17, one shot clear of Finau. Given his incredible history at Vidanta — and that the Mexico Open presents a weak field of golfers — Finau is the heavy favorite to win this event again at +650 on the DraftKings Sportsbook. This is a field of 132 players and there will be a standard top-65 and ties cut following the first two rounds.
Vidanta was designed by Greg Norman and is a scenic, long track that features wide fairways, short rough, paspalum greens, 106 bunkers, and water on 12 of the 18 holes. Plus, this is a rare setup for a par 71, with Vidanta featuring nine par fours, five par threes and four par fives. At this venue, being an elite driver is a significant advantage. We should prioritize bombers this week, with both of the first two Mexico Open champions finishing runner-up in SG: Off The Tee during their victories. As always, a strong performance with your irons is essential to succeed at this course — Finau ranked eighth in SG: Approach during his win here last season — and we also need to target elite par-four players. For two years running, the victor of the Mexico Open has led their field in par-four efficiency at Vidanta.
Below, I break down four of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Mexico Open, which all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st]
Carson Young ($7,400) – Young impressed in his Mexico Open debut last season finishing T15th, and is poised for another high finish at Vidanta. The Clemson graduate currently sits at a career-best No. 172 in the world golf rankings — which is 193 spots higher than when he made his first appearance at Vidanta a year ago — and has only missed one cut in his last six starts. During this stretch, Young has flashed great upside, producing a pair of top-20 finishes. This includes a T9 at the World Wide Technologies Championship at El Camaleon Golf Club, which, like Vidanta, is a course in Mexico that is home to paspalum greens.
Young ranks 33rd in SG: Off The Tee when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and is a steal at this low salary.
Samuel Stevens ($7,100) – While this will be Stevens’ debut at Vidanta, he is in excellent form and has all the tools to succeed at this track. The 28-year-old is on the heels of a T28 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which was notably his first attempt at TPC Scottsdale and his eighth made cut in his last 10 starts. Stevens’ driver has been one of his best weapons — he ranks 13th in SG: Off The Tee over his last 50 rounds — and the Oklahoma State product has been very successful on paspalum during the early stages of his career. In his first two career PGA TOUR starts at courses that feature this rare type of putting surface, Stevens finished T15 at last year’s Puerto Rico Open and then T3 at the Corales Puntacana Championship, marking the second-best finish of his career.
Stevens has a knack for competing on paspalum and he is far too cheap for his upside. On the DraftKings Sportsbook, Stevens carries +6000 odds to win the Mexico Open, which are the same odds as S.H. Kim — the latter being significantly more expensive for DFS purposes at +7,900.
Parker Coody ($6,500) – Coody is a great fit for Vidanta and should thrive in his first attempt at the Mexican track. The former Texas Longhorn earned his PGA TOUR card this season after finishing 25th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list last year. Coody is coming off his best PGA TOUR finish thus far, with a T25 at the Farmers Open. During this start, the 24-year-old put on a show as a ball striker, finishing the event top-seven in SGT2G, SG: Off The Tee, and SG: Approach. Coody has now advanced to the weekend in three of his past four starts and has gained strokes OTT during all three of these made cuts.
With most golf fans unfamiliar with Coody, the rookie should come with low ownership. He stands out as an elite value when we compare DFS salaries to odds to win the Mexico Open. On the DraftKings Sportsbook, Coody presents +8000 odds to win this tournament — the same odds as Alex Smalley, who costs $1,000 more for DFS.
James Hahn ($5,300) – DraftKings has lowered their salary floor for this week with players being as cheap as $5K, and Hahn is one of the best punts to attack in this price range. The veteran finished a respectable T49 at last year’s Mexico Open and has made five of his last eight cuts entering this week. Ranking 15th in SG: Off The Tee over his last 50 rounds, Hahn’s driver has been his best club recently. He also has been a terrific cutmaker on paspalum throughout his career, advancing to the weekend in nine of his last 10 starts at venues that present this type of green.
While he lacks real upside, Hahn should make the cut this week, which would be an immense return at this near minimum salary. Rostering him will also help you get Finau into your lineup, who, as noted above, is heavily favorited to pick up his second consecutive win at Vidanta.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
