Patrick Rodgers
With the Mexico Open presenting one of the weakest fields of the season, most people in your OAD pool are going to take the easy route and click on Akshay Bhatia, who is the favorite this week. While the 23-year-old is a strong option, Bhatia is not an overwhelming favorite by any means, with field-best +1400 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Selecting a different golfer in your OAD is a sharp, contrarian move that has the potential to really pay off if your golfer can finish higher than Bhatia.
The perfect pivot off Bhatia for the Mexico Open is Patrick Rodgers. While the American carries the fifth-best odds to win at +2200, Rodgers deserves shorter odds and has a legitimate case for being the favorite this week. While Bhatia finished T4 at last year’s Mexico Open, that was his only start at Vidanta Vallarta. Rodgers, on the other hand, has competed in all three Mexico Open tournaments at Vidanta Vallarta and he has thrived at this long par 71, finishing T10, T10 and T6, in that order. Rodgers has shot under par in all 12 of his rounds at Vidanta Vallarta — including a seven-under 64 — and he is gaining an outstanding 2.25 strokes per round at the track, which is by far the best among the players in this week’s field that have competed at Vidanta Vallarta more than once.
No player boasts a better resume at Vidanta Vallarta than Rodgers and he is in a prime position to contend at the venue once again. At the Genesis Invitational last week, Rodgers had his best outing of the season with a T3 finish, which was a very impressive feat, given the Genesis is one of the PGA TOUR’s eight Signature Events of the season, meaning all of the PGA TOUR’s best players competed for their share of a $20 million purse. Also, the Genesis was played at the South Course of Torrey Pines, which is the longest course on the PGA TOUR. Rodgers flourishing at this daunting venue that favors strong drivers bodes very well with another driver-heavy track in Vidanta Vallarata up next. It is the fourth-longest course on the PGA TOUR. Rodgers ranks 27th in total driving this season and the first PGA TOUR win of his career is a realistic possibility this week.
Past One and Done Tournament Results
The Sony Open: Maverick McNealy (T45)
The American Express: Justin Thomas (second)
The Farmers Insurance Open: Ludvig Aberg (T42)
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Collin Morikawa (T17)
WM Phoenix Open: Hideki Matsuyama (T25)
Genesis Invitational: Taylor Pendrith (T50)
