2022 Mexico Open Picks: Aaron Wise, Matt Jones Among 3 Targets in Puerto Vallarta

The star-studded American team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay went wire-to-wire for the win at the Zurich Classic, giving each player their first victory of the season.

With consecutive bogeys, they made things a bit interesting as they turned to the back nine. Ultimately, they won comfortably over Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.

Now, the TOUR heads to Mexico for the first edition of the Mexico Open.

Jon Rahm headlines an otherwise really weak field as we go back to traditional individual stroke play. It will be the first tournament hosted at Vidanta Vallarta, but the course will be the host of this event over the next three years.

It is a coastal course, set along the Ameca River with views of the Sierra Madres. Vidanta Vallarta will play as a 7,456-yard Par 71, which is long by coastal standards. It plays mostly at sea level, but with exposure to the Pacific winds, it could set up to be a challenge.

That is all speculative though, so I'll be looking to dial in on players that have some length and have shown an ability to play well on coastal tracks.

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Aaron Wise

The first description of the course I dug into made me think of Wise. There are large landing areas off the tee around this course, which will allow players to pull driver and get away with being a little squirrely off the tee.

It will also become a second-shot course, where strong iron play will be required for success.

Both of those factors are big check marks for Wise when he is at his best. He really struggled on approach in the final round at the RBC Heritage, but he was otherwise strong for the week, continuing a stretch of golf that has seen him bring really good iron play.

Wise will need to continue the strong ball striking to be a contender this week, but he will also need to get the putter going. I am hopeful that the slower paspalum will be a benefit to him, as he has historically done well on some coastal courses in the past.

The bigger issue may be the sticker shock of odds we could be in store for on Monday morning, as he really lines up on the short list of top players in this field.

That's not something we are used to for the Oregon Duck.

I'll still be interested in anything outside of the 20s, as I think even a number in the 30s has to be considered during a week like this.

Matt Jones

We haven't seen Jones since the Valero at the start of the month, where he finished runner-up. He will be looking to build on that, and get back into form this week.

Jones has shown us a few times over the past year that his high-end form on approach is as good as anyone. He has posted several weeks where he gained more than three shots with his irons, including over five twice.

I don't expect him to be at short odds this week, but for a player that we know can handle the coastal winds and should fall in the longer-shot category, he is a guy who's peak play can produce a win.

Jones has certainly shown upside, and he'll be a guy to watch going into the Mexico Open.

Alex Smalley

If we are digging a little deeper this week, I may go directly to the coastal course comps and throw a few darts.

Despite being early in his TOUR career, Smalley is a player that has a bunch of rounds on these types of courses. He has three straight Top-25 finishes at Corales, including a runner-up back in March.

He hasn't had his best stuff outside of that appearance, but if we get long odds on the former Duke Blue Devil, I'll be happy to take a shot on him making a run this weekend.

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