This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Mayakoba Golf Classic
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
El Camaleon Golf Club - Par 71 - 7,017 yards
Field - 132 entrants
Purse - $7.2M
The Preview
The Mayakoba Golf Classic provides an opportunity to tee it up one last time in warm weather along the Riviera Maya before the PGA Tour's winter break, as the schedule doesn't resume again until the Sentry Tournament of Champions in early January. El Camaleon Golf Club has rarely rewarded the field's best drivers of the golf ball as evidenced by the recent champions below, while the short layout tends to favor precise iron/wedge play and a hot putter. This year's tournament actually draws a fairly decent contingent of entrants as a handful of top-20 players will be in attendance, though World No. 1 Dustin Johnson elected to withdraw after being an early commit. Although coastal winds are forecasted to stay relatively tame throughout the final three rounds, rain is certainly possible all four days as delays could impact timing.
Recent Champions
2019 - Brendon Todd
2018 - Matt Kuchar
2017 - Patton Kizzire
2016 - Pat Perez
2015 - Graeme McDowell
2014 - Charley Hoffman
2013 - Harris English
2012 - John Huh
2011 - Johnson Wagner
Key Stats to Victory
GIR percentage
Birdie or better average
Driving accuracy
SG: Putting
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Justin Thomas - $50
Putting up the maximum $50 salary for Thomas is completely worth it, as he heads to Mexico as a heavy 7/1 favorite on golfodds.com. It's pretty ridiculous that he's only $3 more than names like Harris English and Daniel Berger, given that Thomas ranks third in the Official World Golf Ranking and has placed T12 or better in five consecutive starts. His runner-up result at The ZOZO Championship preceded fourth-place honors at the Masters, and he's top-5 on Tour in both birdie and scoring average in the young season. Thomas only has one career appearance at El Camaleon, and he collected a top-25 back in 2014.
Brooks Koepka - $44
A healthy Koepka went T5-T7 at the Vivint Houston Open and the Masters in his past two starts, indicating he could be ready to resume contending routinely again after dipping to 12th in the OWGR. Koepka ranked second among the field in SG: Putting in Houston, and he gained 4.3 strokes from tee-to-green as well. It's somewhat bizarre that Koepka's $44 salary matches that of Rickie Fowler, as Fowler hasn't posted a top-10 finish since The American Express in January.
Glue Guys
Abraham Ancer - $38
Ancer has strung together three straight top-25s at this event back home in Mexico, and he now heads to El Camaleon on the heels of a top-15 finish at the Masters and seven consecutive starts without a missed cut. He ranks ninth in driving accuracy and 11th in GIR percentage over his last 50 rounds.
Carlos Ortiz - $35
Ancer's fellow countryman, Ortiz picked up his maiden victory on the PGA Tour in his most recent showing at the Vivint Houston Open where he held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to win by two shots. Ortiz gained an average of 6.37 strokes per event from tee-to-green over his last three starts, and he ranks 44th on Tour in GIR percentage this season. Additionally, he tied for second in Playa del Carmen last year and collected another top-10 at the Mayakoba event back in 2014.
Corey Conners - $31
It's impossible to ignore Conners at a discounted salary given his elite ball striking and current run of four straight top-25s, which includes back-to-back top-10s at the Masters and The RSM Classic. Over his last 24 rounds, the Canadian ranks fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green and 10th in SG: Approach. On the season, he's 17th in driving accuracy, 42nd in GIR percentage and 42nd in par breakers.
Bargain Bin
Emiliano Grillo - $26
Grillo ranks even higher in SG: Approach than Conners over the last 24 rounds, coming in at fourth among this week's field in the almighty iron-play metric. In fact, the Argentinian has gained strokes on his approaches in eight consecutive measured events dating to the 3M Open in late July. Course history falls on Grillo's side as well, as he has racked up impressive results of T41-15-T9-T10 in his four career appearances at El Camaleon.
Peter Malnati - $23
Malnati has done more than just ho-hummed his way to five consecutive made cuts, appearing near the top of leaderboards with his back-to-back top-5s at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He's risen to 16th in the FedExCup Standings through the fall series and ranks fourth in SG: Putting and ninth in birdie average. He owns a top-10 at the 2015 Mayakoba Golf Classic as well.
Patton Kizzire - $21
Kizzire figures to be a popular punt-play choice down here at $21, given he's compiled three straight top-25s since the Shriners tournament. He's second in SG: Putting over his last 24 rounds and 30th in birdie average this season. If you scrolled past the list of recent champions above, he won the 2017 edition of this event.
