We head to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco for the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta this week.
Over the last two years, PGA Tour studs have dominated weak fields in this event, as Jon Rahm won in 2022 and Tony Finau won in 2023.
Besides that, extremely long drivers have found success here. This is not a high-paying event, so it won't be a do-or-die week like some of the last few events.
However, there's still money to be made as there are great options to vault you up your one-and-done pool standings. Let's dive into the odds board and look at a few one-and-done options for the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Tony Finau (+850)
If you're front-running and want a safe play, Tony Finau is the move. If you're coming from behind and need to gain some ground on your pool, you should look elsewhere.
Finau checks every box for the Mexico Open and is the obvious betting favorite after his two trips here have resulted in a win and a tie for second.
He has gained a whopping 22.5 strokes ball-striking in eight rounds at Vidanta. That's up there with some of the best per-round averages for any golfer at a given track. Finau is an elite total driver and loves to putt on these Paspalum greens.
Besides that, he really excels in weak fields. Even the average golf fan knows that Finau is exceptionally talented, and we all wonder why he can never put it together on the big stage. In a weak field like this, the pressure seems to be off, and he's free-flowing from there.
We've seen him cruise to wins at the Mexico Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic and 3M Open over the last two years. All of those tournaments feature weaker fields and courses that allow players to bomb it off the tee and make a ton of birdies.
Patrick Rodgers (+3300)
Rodgers is one of the few "course horses" here at Vidanta. His two trips to Mexico have resulted in a tie for 10th and a solo-10th finish in which he gained over 11 strokes ball-striking.
He has been solid off the tee of late, which is the most important statistic in terms of success on this track. Rodgers has gained a ton of distance over the last year and a half, and that will give him a leg up on the field.
The last time he played in a very weak field was the Barracuda Championship in July, when he ended up losing in a playoff.
Rodgers has all the talent in the world and has simply failed to put it together in his PGA Tour career after tying Tiger Woods's program-record 11 collegiate wins at Stanford. He's one of the veterans in this field and will give you four solid rounds with a path to the top of the leaderboard, even if he doesn't have his best game this week.
Rodgers will be moderately owned but should be a fairly safe option for this week's Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Alex Smalley (+8000)
Alex Smalley brings a complete ball-striking display with some high-end upside to the table.
He's one of the few to make the trip from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta to play this event. Playing in an elite invitational field before heading to one of the weakest fields of the year should have him ready for contention this week.
His confidence should be flowing, and he has had success on this course before when he finished in a tie for sixth in 2022, just a few strokes behind Rahm and Finau.
Smalley's ball-striking has taken a dip over his last two starts, but those were both in much stronger fields than this week's competition. Nonetheless, he remains an above average tee-to-green player with the ability to pop on these greens. Smalley is a hit-or-miss putter but has done some of his best work on Paspalum.
Smalley is clearly a longshot, but he's a great high-risk, high-reward option if you need to gain ground on the field.
