Bohn To Fire Things Up In Mexico

The PGA Tour moves to Mayakoba in Mexico this week where Robert Streb and current Champion, Harris English, are joint favourites at 22/1.

The Tournament
Established in 2007, the OHL Classic at Mayakoba is one of the newest events on the PGA Tour. For its first six editions, it was played in late February and functioned as an alternate event to the WGC World Match Play Championship, but it has been upgraded under the new PGA schedule, moved to mid-November, and is now one of the main early-season events, with a full quota of FedEx Cup play-off points on offer.

The Course
El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen is one of the more distinctive venues on the PGA circuit, an unusual mix of forest, jungle and beach. But at a touch under 7000 yards, it doesn’t give the big hitters any advantage, and although water is in play at most holes, the scarcity of bunkers and the generous proportions of the fairways don’t pose too much threat to the top pros. Expect some low scoring this week.

In The Bunker
This time last year, Harris English earned his second PGA Tour title at Mayakoba, and although he didn’t add any further trophies last season, he went on to score another five top tens before his form petered out in the FedEx Cup play-offs.

His victory twelve months ago is enough to make him antepost favourite in Mexico this week, but he hasn’t shown that much in three outings so far this season, and although his odds of 22/1 are reasonable, I think there’s better value elsewhere this week.

Recommended Bets
Jason Bohn has had a poor 2014 but he’s kicked off the new season in reasonably solid form and heads to Mexico off the back of his best performance at a PGA Tour event for twelve months.

He shot three sub-70 rounds at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week to finish in a tie for second and will fancy his chances of improving on that at Mayakoba, where he finished third last year. Back him at 28/1.

Rory Sabbatini is another player who hasn’t made much of an impact on the PGA Tour in recent months, but he could be worth a look. He finished third at Mayakoba last year, his only top five finish anywhere in the last two seasons, and that followed a fifth at the same venue in 2011. He clearly enjoys the course and heads there after a solid effort at the CIMB Classic last week where he started steadily but finished with a final round 66 to crack the top ten. He’s worth a look at 33/1.

At big odds, it could also pay to follow Will MacKenzie. He hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2008, but came close at the McGladrey Classic two weeks ago, losing out in a play-off and he put in a decent performance at Mayakoba last year, shooting a final round of 66 to finish twelfth. He can be backed at 50/1.