Only three official events remain in the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, with time running out for players to earn as much playing status as possible for next year.
After being held in Riviera Maya the past 16 years, the World Wide Technologies Championship has moved to Los Cabos. This year’s event begins Thursday at El Cardonal at Diamante, the PGA Tour’s first tournament at a Tiger Woods-designed course.
Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with the best bets to win in Cabo this week.
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Los Cabos, Mexico, Nov. 2-5
Course: El Cardonal at Diamante (Par 72, 7,452 yards)
Purse: $8.2M (Winner: $1.476M)
Defending Champion: Russell Henley
FedEx Cup Champion: Viktor Hovland
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Saturday, 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
X: @WWTChampionship
PROP PICKS
–Ludvig Aberg to Beat Lucas Glover (-148 at DraftKings): Aberg is hammering the Fall circuit as he attempts to secure status for next year. Currently No. 99in the FedEx Cup rankings, Aberg already has a T2 and a T13 this fall and should be fresh following a two-week break. Glover is definitely fresh — he hasn’t teed it up since the Tour Championship in August. Yes, Glover sits 18th in the standings courtesy of two late wins over the summer, but Aberg is an ascending star who played in the Ryder Cup that Glover could only watch from home.
–Matt Kuchar to Finish Top 20 (+175 at BetMGM): Kuchar didn’t advance past the first leg of the playoffs, so he kicked off the Fall series with a T7 at the Fortinet Championship. After two events on the DP World Tour, including a T19 in his most recent start at the Andalucia Masters, Kuchar is back on the PGA Tour. He has had decent success in Mexico the past two years, posting a T27 and T22 at Mayakoba.
–Sahith Theegala to Finish Top 10 (+180 at DraftKings): At No. 31 in the FedEx Cup standings, Theegala has his place secured in all the marquee events for 2024. But he admittedly can’t stay away from competition for long stretches, so he’s in Mexico seeking his fifth consecutive top 20 finish. That includes a win at the Fortinet baked up by a T19 in Japan. He should fair well against a modest field in Cabo.
2023 Prop Picks Record: 44-47-2
BEST BETS
–Ludvig Aberg (+900) is seeking his first PGA Tour win, with the rookie Ryder Cup member posting a T2 and T13 in his first two fall events. He’s third at the book, having been backed by 9.6 percent of all money wagered on this week’s winner.
–Cameron Young (+1200) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 17 as he also seeks his maiden win on tour. This is Young’s first start since a T15 at the BMW Championship in August. He opened at +1400, but those odds have shortened a bit with Young backed by 10.6 percent of the total money.
–Sahith Theegala (+1600) claimed his first tour title at the Fortinet Championship and backed it up with a T19 at the Zozo Championship.
–Lucas Glover (+2500) is also making his first start since the Tour Championship, where he finished T18 after winning the Wyndham and the first leg of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude.
–Emiliano Grillo (+2800), who won the Charles Schwab Challenge earlier this year, rebounded from a pair of missed cuts to finish T10 at the Zozo. He leads the field with 15.8 percent of the money backing the Argentinian to win, making him the book’s third biggest liability.
–Chris Kirk (+3300) hasn’t teed it up since the BMW. He has missed five of his past nine cuts, but Kirk won the Honda last spring and has the veteran experience to be a dark horse against a somewhat modest field.
–Akshay Bhatia (+3500) has been one of the biggest movers, drawing 6.3 percent of the total bets since opening at +4000.
–Cameron Champ (+4000) is the book’s biggest liability, with his lengthy odds backed by a field-high 8.7 percent of the total bets.
NOTES
–This is the fifth of seven events of the FedEx Cup Fall that finalizes eligibility for the 2024 season. Nos. 1-50 after the Tour Championship locked in their positions. Nos. 51-60 after the Fall series will qualify for two signature events next year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. The top 125 will be exempt into full-field events and The Players Championship, while Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour next year.
–Maverick McNealy makes his first start since the RBC Canadian Open in June. McNealy, who is the only tour player gaining more than a shot on the greens this season, has been rehabbing a shoulder injury and fell from No. 26 to No. 121 in the standings during his absence.
–Michael Block, the teaching pro who finished 15th at the PGA Championship, is in the field on a sponsor exemption along with Chris Gotterup, amateur Preston Summerhays and open qualifier Billy Davis.
–Winners during the Fall series receive world rankings points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and invitations to next year’s Tournament of Champions, The Players Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
–Field Level Media
