The Daily Spin – Mexico Open

RECAP

The Zurich Classic certainly is not at the top of my list of favorite events each year as the field is soft and it is a little gimmicky so it is tough to figure out which teams are going to play with a ton of motivation. Usually, if you look to teams that play together each season, that is a good starting point as there is enough of a relationship in place that neither partner wants to let the other one down. However, there is also risk each year that certain top players will more or less be on cruise control for the event and not necessarily pushing for the best possible finish. Fortunately, I was able to work my way to an easy win with my cash game lineup, though it fell a little short in GPP contests after a crucial missed putt on the last hole Friday before the cut.

My approach for the week was to stack a couple of the top teams for the week, hoping to find two of the more motivated teams to carry me to victory. I zeroed in on Billy Horschel and Sam Burns near the top for my first team. Billy had won this event as an individual and as part of a team and Sam played his college golf at LSU so I knew this team would come to play. Finding any bit of motivation for an event like this is key and given how well both guys have played over the last year, this was an easy decision for me. They did not let me down as they finished in 2nd and made a nice run on Sunday to nearly close a five shot deficit from the start of the final round.

The other team that I used near the top was Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer. Scottie is the top player in the world and while Ryan Palmer has not had a great season, this has been an event he’s thrived at and even won with Jon Rahm. I was hoping that Scottie would have similar good fortune, but they struggled in the every other shot rounds and wound up finishing 18th. Though it was not a crushing blow, I was hoping for at least a Top-10.

Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown play here together each year and have had some strong moments over the years, but did not play so well last week. They made the cut, but finished 35th, one of the worst teams that played over the weekend. The every other shot format really hurt them and they lost ground on Sunday shooting over par. Scott Brown just is not much of a contributor these days, but as long as these two play together each season, we’re likely to continue to see a decent value on their price and as long as we know that they are going to be excited to play together, I will likely go back to them. If Jay Haas can make a cut playing with Bill Haas, I don’t see why Scott Brown couldn’t wake up and play well for a couple of rounds again.

Since I opted to stack a couple of top teams, I needed a punt play to help me out and it worked out really well. Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard were really cheap and both have had some nice moments this year with Hubbard getting hot on the Korn Ferry Tour and Brehm recording a recent win. They outperformed their price and finished 14th for the week. Hubbard is really playing well this season between the PGA Tour and the KFT so he’s likely due for a fall as he’ll probably be a chalky play this week.

On the downside, two of my teams missed the cut. Team Canada and also Team Adam, Hadwin and Svensson, were in position to make the cut going to the last hole on Friday. Unfortunately, Hadwin missed the green off the tee shot and Svensson could only get them to about 7 feet for the par putt which of course, Hadwin missed to blow the cut for this team. At the time, I thought that was the nail in the coffin for my team and did not follow my DFS scores all that closely until Sunday. However, in a wild turn of events, I cashed really easily and in fact, my 4/6 roster was close to the top of some of the higher buy-in double ups for the week.

It showed me that once again, you are never dead until the tournament is over and it kept the ball rolling on what has been a very profitable year so far in 2022. I have only had four losing weeks so far this season so I am really pleased with the way my process is working and the types of lineups that I have been putting together. Though the improvements have been really small in my approach, this is a game where every small change matters as it only takes flipping a couple of weeks from losses to wins every year to turn a stable profit. Remember our process this week as you approach this less than stellar field. Though it may seem daunting, I do believe that we are best positioned to make money at events like this where the pros playing off of a model are more lost than usual in their builds.

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