In a piece of irony which blows tiny minds like my own, the PGA Tour heads to Mexico this week for the annual OHL Classic, a fully-fledged tournament which carries full Tour privileges and benefits for those teeing it up.
This is the 10th staging of the Mexican event and as the profile of the tournament continues to grow, the strength of the field has gone up again too. All those in the field will be looking to boost their status heading into 2017 with a decent purse for the winner and plenty of FedEx Cup points on offer as ever.
Recent Winners
2015 – Graeme McDowell
2014 – Charley Hoffman
2013 – Harris English
2012 – John Huh
2011 – Johnson Wagner
2010 – Cameron Beckman
2009 – Mark Wilson
2008 – Brian Gay
2007 – Fred Funk
The Course
El Camaleon Golf Club is the host of the tournament once again. The course allows us to see a style of golf from a vintage era as it is short with a pre-requisite on accuracy and ball striking rather than the ground it and pound it style we see far too much of in the modern day.
The course is a par 71 which plays to a 6,987 total yardage so length isn’t an issue. The course tends to suit ball strikers but the quirk to the place is the greens which are full of undulations so you tend to find those who putt well fly up the leaderboard. The course was the second easiest par 71 on Tour last season with the only defence for the course being the wind which does tend to blow regularly here.
The Field
There are plenty of former champions in the field including the defending champion Graeme McDowell. Harris English, John Huh, Johnson Wagner and Charley Hoffman are other champions teeing it up this week.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year is in the field this week in Emiliano Grillo while there are major champions in Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Ernie Els and Angel Cabrera. Seasoned winners such as Russell Knox, Jim Furyk, Marc Leishman and Luke Donald are also here.
Market Leaders
Russell Knox lost in a playoff here last year and he is the 16/1 favourite to win this week. He has shown some good early season form and fits the profile needed here so that position is justified although he won’t have teed it up as a favourite very often which is a negative.
Emiliano Grillo is a second favourite this week. As a speaker of the native language he should be more comfortable than some here but with putting being a trend that fits around here as much as I’m a fan of his he can’t be for me at 20/1. Jon Rahm also speaks the lingo and as talented as he is I can’t be having him as short as 20/1 either.
Jim Furyk tees it up as a 25/1 chance and as you will see below I believe he has a leading chance this week. Keegan Bradley is next in the betting at 28/1 which is the same price as the former champion Harris English. It is 33/1 bar those already named.
Main Bets
I’m going with two main bets this week with the emphasis very much on ball striking. The first of those as I intimated above is Jim Furyk. Furyk just looks set up perfectly for this golf course. He is monotonously straight and is up there with the very best when it comes to ball striking. If the putter is on a going day like it was a few months ago when he was shooting scores like his 58 then he is going to be a major player this week.
I’m not much of a fan of Keegan Bradley but I recognise his potential this week and at 28/1 I’m prepared to give him a go here. If I’m honest I don’t like the price much but I do think he’s going to go in sometime soon and I don’t not want to be on when he does and with the very stellar names missing this week it feels like this is a good time to back him.
Bradley comes in here in good form with his ball striking catching the eye numerous times in recent weeks. If he can get a few putts to drop, and he is getting better with the short putter every week, then he is entitled to build on his top 10 here on debut last year.
Outsiders
I’m hitting three at bigger prices this week in the hope of landing some decent coin with one of them. John Huh is a former winner around here so he should feel comfortable this week and off the back of firing a 62 in Las Vegas last week we certainly know he is hitting the ball well. As ever if the putter gets hot he could contend and at 80/1 the fact he’s already won here reels me in.
Ian Poulter is trying to revive his career which I suspect is why he is making his debut in this tournament. He is excellent in the wind and remains an excellent putter so this should be a course he can go well on. There is no stress on his long game this week so if he can hit the ball well I’m expecting Poulter to build on what is already an excellent overseas record.
Chris Stroud has a wonderful record around here even though he has never won the tournament. His form has been very much in and out for the last year but he’s got in on a sponsors invite and he wouldn’t be the first person to take full advantage of one of those. At his best he is a very good putter and he clearly putts these greens well. He’s enough of a price for me to take a chance on him.
Tips
Back J.Furyk to win OHL Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Winner Sports (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back K.Bradley to win OHL Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back J.Huh to win OHL Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back I.Poulter to win OHL Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 111.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back C.Stroud to win OHL Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 176.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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