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TourPicks ranks his top-10 players to watch for at the 2024 WWT Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico. Insights on the top-10 golfers for the week and reasons why they are primed and ready to win.
After a one-week hiatus, the PGA Tour fall swing resumes, and players have descended upon the pristine golf resort in Los Cabos, Mexico where El Cardonal at Diamante is set to host this event for the second time. We have a less-than-steller field on tap but this event presents a great opportunity for those players in good form to nab a victory before ending 2024.
Scoring was ridiculously low at El Cardonal last season, nine players were able to eclipse the -20 under mark or better for the week. Unless the weather gets gnarly, we fully expect this tournament to once again be another birdie-fest. These types of events have historically aligned better with some players than others.
As always, my primary goal with this article is to give you a place to start your research and preparation for the upcoming week. I have carefully evaluated the field-to-project proper course fits and looked heavily into how players' incoming form has been in the categories that matter the most here. Without further ado, Here are my top 10 Power Rankings for the 2024 World Wide Technology Championship.
No. 10 - Erik Van Rooyen
Let's start things off with the defending champion at this event, Erik Van Rooyen. It was an emotional week for Van Rooyen, whose exceptional play was in part inspired by a dose of perspective after recently losing a close friend. Van Rooyen shot a final round 63 to secure the victory and post a -27 score for the tournament.
The fairways are enormous and the greens are massive at El Cardonal. Both should be a welcome site for Van Rooyen who has struggled recently with his driving accuracy and iron-play precision. We do not have strokes gained data from last year, but I can tell you than Van Rooyen putted is extremely well which tends to happen quite often on these kind of large Paspalum-grass greens.
WALK-OFF EAGLE! 🦅
Erik van Rooyen wins the World Wide Technology Championship in dramatic fashion! 🏆pic.twitter.com/O6w0EYrKg1
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) November 5, 2023
No. 9 - Doug Ghim
Doug Ghim has been the best short term iron player in the field. He ranks #1 in strokes gained approach over the last 24 rounds and he's been exceptional from inside of 160 yards. Ghim has some nice history at this event when looking back at last year where he finished T15.
His runner up finish a few weeks back at the Shriners will hopefully add some "clutch contention-reps" that he needed. He's been a great driver of the ball which has mostly hinged on his accuracy. Ghim has had a great fall and will look to continue building a solid foundation of FedEx Cup points heading into 2025.
No. 8 - Jhonattan Vegas
Jhonny Vegas did not play in this event last year which was surprising to me because I think this course is right up Vegas's alley. He has historically produced his best results on wide-open courses where he can leverage his power and aggressive birdie-making ability.
He's been solid this Fall and late Summer, making six consecutive cuts after winning the 3M Open a few months ago. His iron play was sharp two weeks ago in Japan and Vegas gaining strokes OTT is essentially a foregone conclusion. He sets up very well this week.
No. 7 - Matti Schmid
If you're looking for a strong contender for the trendiest pick of the week, then look no further than Matti Schmid. All signs point to another week in contention for Schmid who has been on a tear for the past two months. He'll be able to leverage his driving distance and birdie making ability to produce results this week as well.
His last three tournaments have been a T16, 5th, and then a T3 at the Shriners Open. Schmid gained strokes in both OTT and APP in all three tournaments. The course fit times current form diagram is likely leading you right to Matti Schmid if you want the play the most obvious angle.
🤔As fundamentally sound as it comes…
If you watched @ShrinersOpen yesterday you would’ve seen Matti Schmid contending.
I had the pleasure of getting to know him at the @ArnoldPalmerCup and let me tell you… he’s good!
Watch this space. #golf #golfswing #golfer #germany… pic.twitter.com/FIdODPQu4q— Mark Immelman (@mark_immelman) October 21, 2024
No. 6. Tom Hoge
This fall swing has unfortunately been a miss thus far for Tom Hoge who undoubtedly had high expectations. He's one of the few players that are signing up for these tournaments that made the Tour Championship, but Hoge has been unable to produce the results he hoped for.
He missed the cut at the Shriners Open and finished T56 in the no-cut event at the ZOZO Championship. His ordinarily reliable iron play has been inconsistent, but we know Hoge has proven over the long term to be elite with his wedges so this course looks to be a great fit for him to rebound this week in Mexico.
No. 5 - J.J. Spaun
In the number five spot in my power rankings, we have J.J. Spaun which is a bit troubling to actually type into this piece. My brain says that it's way to high, but the data would indicate that it's tough to ignore the way Spaun has been striking the golf ball.
Spaun just posted a T6 at the ZOZO Championship in a field that was tremendously stronger. He's making a ton of birdies right now, and we know that you need to make 6-8 birdies per round at El Cardonal and stay in constant attack-mode. Spaun has recently packed on some distance, which should suit him well this week and I think he makes a solid pick to win this tournament.
No. 4 - Harris English
Harry might just be fully back. Back-to-back top-ten finishes for Harris English will have him on everyone's radar this week as bettors will be eyeing a PGA Tour-proven winner who is back in top form. He deserves a high ranking, but there are some red flags that kept him outside the top three in the rankings this week.
He's putting the lights out, which is semi-normal for English. However, relying on a player to gain six strokes putting is a tough place to be, especially given that he's lost strokes on Approach in eight of his last ten tournaments. He's trustworthy on contention if he can find himself on the leaderboard Sunday afternoon.
No. 3 - Keith Mitchell
Keith Mitchell has sprung a leak in my bank accounts as I have backed him countless times over the past years. He let another tournament slip away a few weeks ago at the Sanderson Farms by 3-putting the final hole to miss out on a playoff. It's left me wondering if he has what it takes to get it done.
That said, he often elevates his game in birdie-fest conditions and this is another golf course that should align perfectly with his skill set. He ranks #1 in the field in Birdie-or-Better percentage, a stat with increased importance this week when you factor in that the winning score last year was a whopping -27 under par. He's experienced enough pain already this Fall, let's go Keith!
Heartbreaking.
54 hole leader Keith Mitchell bogies the 18th at the Sanderson Farms to finish T3. 💔pic.twitter.com/95UXQ9RVd6
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) October 6, 2024
No. 2 - Max Greyserman
He's quickly become the second-highest-ranked player in the OWGR in this field this week, and he's also the number-one-ranked player in my custom stat model. I'm talking about none other than Max Greyserman who went from virtually unknown six months ago into a stud at the top of the oddsboard.
Greyserman has recorded three second-place finishes in his last five tournaments played. He's shown the ability to content on differing course layouts, but he does most of his damage with the flat stick. Greyserman has gained +6.4 strokes putting or better in four of his last five events. If he can continue to roll it like a star, I would expect him to be near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday. He seems quite cool under pressure.
"Just gonna take away that I hung in there, and I played good golf."
Max Greyserman discusses his final round @WyndhamChamp. pic.twitter.com/Dpe7VW5qIT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 12, 2024
No. 1 - Cameron Young
Cameron Young comes into this week as a surprising entry, but this man has to be desperate to finally break through for victory. He's the only player in the field this weekend ranked inside the top 40 in the OWGR. Young's last PGA Tour event was the BMW Championship where he finished a disappointing 43rd and lost nearly seven strokes on approach.
He gets the Number-one label in my rankings this week based on pure talent and pedigree. Young is capable of being a top-10 player in the world and we've been patiently awaiting the big win. He'll be one of the longest players in the field in Mexico with room to spray it. Can he finally win? I'll believe it when I see it, but no other player deserves to be the favorite.
Enjoy the WWT Championship and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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