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There’s no Tiger Woods in the field this week but the 15-time major championship winner – and maybe the greatest player in the history of the game – has a huge involvement this week. How so? Well, the new venue of this tournament is a course that Woods designed. Yes, punters will be disappointed that El Camaleon at the Mayakoba resort no longer hosts because it had a distinct DNA – the tight fairways and small greens narrowing the focus and sometimes leading us to big priced winners and contenders. This new venue – El Cardonal at Diamante – is on the other side of the country and has some similar details with fine views of the ocean, a tendency to be blasted by wind and paspalum on the greens But it is otherwise a very different examination because Woods has given the field wide open fairways protected by two threats. The first are bunkers which are often placed in the fairway, looking to catch out sloppy shots. The other threat is lazy thinking or poor execution. From the tee there are plenty of bold options: big blows can slice off the dog leg or dodge bunkers or catch downhill slopes. There’s a huge upside but also errors can creep in so aggression is needed, as is commitment and excellence. Woods says of the course: “I set up the golf strategy to make golfers think and make choices. There are going to be different ways to play every hole. Angles of approach are going to be very important and will dictate the type of shots you should consider. I love this kind of golf.” It’s a par 72 at around 7,450 yards and many of the holes have arroyes down them which are (usually) dry desert gullies. Less frequent hazards include cacti, desert scrub, sandy dunes and palo verde trees. Angles to consider 1 / Paspalum grass on the greens This grainy grass is more and more common, for one thing it is better for the environment, but it does fool some golfers. It’s not quite Bermuda but it is close. Look for decent performance on El Camaleon, Kiawah Island, Grand Reserve (Puerto Rico Open), Corales (Corales Puntacana Champs) and also the two events played in the Bahamas on the Korn Ferry Tour. 2 / Blustery oceanside courses The course is on high land by the sea and the capacity to deal with changeable and strong wind will be key. Think Plantation, El Camaleon, Grand Reserve and Corales again, but also Port Royal for the Bermuda Championship which is also similar in being open and undulating. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Akshay Bhatia The youngster made a winning breakthrough on the PGA Tour this summer at altitude in California. He’s now lower down, both literally (near the sea) and geographically (at the bottom of the Californian peninsula). And so much of his best golf has been by the sea. He was second in the Puerto Rico Open and fourth in the Mexico Open – both blustery, wide course with paspalum grass. He’s also a past winner in the Bahamas in exactly those conditions. Lucas Herbert The Aussie likes playing resort courses in blustery spots. His rookie year on the DP World Tour featured third at Verdura and second at Dom Pedro (also seventh in the Dunhill Links). He finished seventh at Emirates in 2019 and then won there a year later in high wind. He’s twice been fourth at the Renaissance Club and won at the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal two years ago. He’s also been third at Royal Greens. He needs a good week and this track can provide it. Luke List List was a winner two starts ago at Jackson in the Sanderson Farms Championship, a second win on the PGA Tour after his breakthrough at Torrey Pines. That latter victory was also high up above the Pacific but this will be less exacting from the tee. However he likes blustery golf. He has top 10 finishes at Harbour Town, Corales, El Camaleon and a pair of them at PGA National and Sea Island. He was even third at the undulating Gullane and he was 11th the only time he played Plantation (earlier this year). Tips: 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Akshay Bhatia at 33/1 (Paddy Power, William Hill, BF Sportsbook, Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 10th 1pt e.w. Lucas Herbert at 45/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 31st 1pt e.w. Luke List at 40/1 (Paddy Power, BF Sportsbook 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 45th
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