The First Look: Mayakoba Golf Classic

Patton Kizzire defends his first PGA TOUR title and Rickie Fowler seeks to go one better than last year as the fall schedule returns to Mexico’s Riviera Maya for its penultimate stop before the holiday break. Jordan Spieth comes to the Yucatán Peninsula for the first time as he continues his first fall trek since 2015, while Tony Finau makes his third visit to give the lineup a trio of three players ranked among the world’s top 15. FIELD NOTES: Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship in just the second start of his rookie year, has a chance to add to his trophy case. He’s played Mayakoba once before, missing the cut last year on a sponsor invitation. … The lineup features 30 graduates of last year’s Web.com Tour regular season or Finals, topped by overall earnings champ Sungjae Im. … Chris Stroud will keep his perfect attendance record intact at Mayakoba, the only man to tee it up in all 12 editions. … Padraig Harrington, eliminated from the European Tour’s Race to Dubai season title, makes his first TOUR start since the 2017-18 regular season. … Abraham Ancer, who tied for ninth last year and was fifth at last month’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia, heads a group of seven Mexican pros in the field. Two are recent Web.com Tour graduates: Carlos Ortiz and José de Jesús Rodriguez. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Eight of the first 11 champions at Mayakoba have prevailed in their 30s or older, resisting the fall trend toward younger winners. Fred Funk set the tone in the inaugural edition when he won at age 50. … Despite the international locale, all but one edition at Mayakoba have been captured by U.S.-born players. The lone exception was Graeme McDowell, winner of a 2015 playoff. … Kizzire and McDowell are among seven former champions back with a chance to become the event’s first multiple winner. The others: Brian Gay (2008), John Huh (2012), Harris English (2013), Charley Hoffman (2014), Pat Perez (2016). … Four Mayakoba Classics have been decided in playoffs, including Huh’s marathon over Robert Allenby that went eight extra holes. COURSE: El Camaleón GC, 6,987 yards, par 71. Now in its 12th year as a PGA TOUR venue, “The Chameleon� winds its way through three distinct landscapes – tropical jungle, dense mangroves and sand-lined oceanfront along the Riviera Maya. Designer Greg Norman even incorporated a cenote – an underground cavern common to the area – into the heart of the seventh fairway. Open for play in 2004, the Mayakoba Golf Classic made its debut three years later as a spring event opposite the WGC Match Play. The tournament moved to its own fall date in 2013. Two years ago, El Camaleón also served as one of two hosts for the World Amateur Team Championships. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Harris English (2013), Pat Perez (2016). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Roland Thatcher (3rd round, 2008). LAST YEAR: Kizzire walked away from a marathon Sunday with his first PGA TOUR victory, outdueling Rickie Fowler at the end of a 36-hole day to finish one stroke ahead. Kizzire opened with a 62 at El Camaleón, but a second-round 70 brought him back into a share of the lead with Patrick Rodgers entering the long finale. The Auburn alum closed with 66-67, managing to limit the damage whenever he got in trouble. Fowler had a chance to pick up ground when Kizzire had to take a penalty drop at the par-5 13th after hooking his drive into the hazard, but Kizzire scrambled for par that kept Fowler from closing the gap by two. Fowler finished 67-67, recording the third runner-up finish in a span of 11 starts and 12th of his TOUR career. Si Woo Kim used a closing 65 to finish alone in third, his first top-10 since winning THE PLAYERS Championship. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

Click here to read the full article…