Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya Preview
The PGA heads south of the border to Mexico this weekend, as the tour’s second-tier players tee off in the Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya at the El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba.
This tournament will be missing most of the tour’s big names, as they will be taking part in the WGC-Accentura Match Play Championship which began Wednesday at The Gallery at Dove Mountain in Tucson, Arizona. While golfers like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker battle in Arizona, the Mexican spectators will have to settle for the likes of Fred Funk, Peter Lonard and Bubba Watson.
This is only the second time this tournament will be played after the first-ever PGA tournament held in Mexico took place last year. In last year’s event Funk claimed the inaugural title after shooting 14-under par. Jose Coceres also finished 72 holes at 14-under par, but went on to lose to Funk in a playoff.
Even though Funk is the defending champion of this event, he’s not the favorite heading into the opening round. Entering the tournament the favorite on the odds list is Joe Durant at 16/1. Funk is a 28/1 underdog, while Coceres is an even bigger long shot at 33/1. These odds will vary from book to book, so do a little digging and you might be able to find some of the field’s top golfers at better value.
Last weekend Mickelson tore up the Riviera Country Club in California to win the Northern Trust Open by two shots over Jeff Quinney. As previously mentioned, Mickelson won’t be in Mexico this weekend and neither will Quinney. The top finisher from last week’s event that will be taking part in the Mayakoba is Ryuji Imada. Imada tied for fifth last week after shooting 6-under par.
Odds to win Mayakoba Classic
Joe Durant 16/1
Steve Marino 22/1
Peter Lonard 22/1
Bubba Watson 22/1
Matt Kuchar 22/1
Fred Funk 28/1
Tim Herron 28/1
Joe Ogilvie 33/1
Jesper Parnevik 33/1
Briny Baird 33/1
Alejandro Canizares 33/1
Brian Gay 33/1
Parker McLachlin 33/1
Corey Pavin 33/1
Cameron Beckman 40/1
Alex Cejka 40/1
Robert Gamez 40/1
Matt Jones 40/1
Craig Kanada 40/1
Doug Labelle 40/1
Shigeki Maruyana 40/1
Kevin Stadler 40/1
Dean Wilson 40/1
Olin Browne 40/1
Jose Coceres 33/1
James Driscoll 50/1
Kenneth Ferrie 50/1
Cliff Kresge 50/1
Daisuke Maruyama 50/1
John Merrick 50/1
Tim Petrovic 50/1
Chris Riley 50/1
Michael Sim 50/1
Nicholas Thompson 50/1
Marc Turnesa 50/1
Y E Yang 50/1
Gonzalo Fernandez 50/1
Andrew Buckle 66/1
Kent Jones 66/1
Shaun Micheel 66/1
Ted Purdy 66/1
Chez Reavie 66/1
Kevin Streelman 66/1
Chris Stroud 66/1
Roland Thatcher 66/1
Jay Williamson 66/1
Brad Adamonis 80/1
Gavin Coles 80/1
Marco Dawson 80/1
Nick Flanagan 80/1
Carlos Franco 80/1
Brent Geiberger 80/1
Jon Mills 80/1
Jin Park 80/1
Brett Quigley 80/1
Brett Rumford 80/1
Steve Allen 100/1
Glen Day 100/1
Mark Hensby 100/1
Skip Kendall 100/1
Field (any other golfer) 3/2
