The tumultuous state of the PGA Tour has created an interesting narrative when it comes to the “regular” events on the schedule. Very few of the elite field at Riviera will take the cruise route from Pacific Palisades down to Puerta Vallarta for the Mexico Open at Vidanta. As a result, the 132-man field will only have three of the top 40 in the OWGR. Three straight weeks of popular venues and/or signature purses is going to take a toll.
I believe this will make the Mexico Open more competitive in the coming years. Middle-tier players who haven’t played since mid-January are now incentivized to play in these regular events. Gaining access to the smaller fields and bigger purses will only happen through great play at events like Vidanta. Whether it is an intended consequence or not, the PGA Tour has inspired the bottom of the betting board to play better!
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