Mayakoba Classic opens doors for some
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya | Preview | 22 Feb 2012
The focus of world golf this week is centred well and truly on the opening World Golf Championship event of the season in Marana in Arizona.
For many other PGA Tour players who have not qualified for the Accenture Match Play Championship, however, they will be hoping the absence of so many good players offers an opportunity to advance their cause at the PGA Tour event in Mexico.
The Mayakoba Golf Classic is being played at the El Camaleon at Riviera Maya near Cancun, the event into its 6th year at the Greg Norman designed layout on the Caribbean.
Johnson Wagner won his second PGA Tour event when last year he defeated Spencer Levin in a playoff but despite winning this event, the Sony Open earlier this year and finishing runner-up at the Humana Challenge three weeks ago, he is not in the Accenture Match Play field and so gets to defend his title.
Levin is another to have played well of late but not make it into the Accenture field and following several very good weeks of late he appears a great chance to do well again in the event. Levin has made the cut in his last 13 events, his best in that time when 3rd in Phoenix after leading in the final round.
Brian Gay is a former winner of this event and last year he finished 5th indicating a liking for the layout. Gay has done well enough this season for him to be a factor again in an event which clearly means a lot to him.
Rory Sabbatini has missed his last two cuts but he seems to enjoy playing in this type of environment and it would not surprise if there was a marked improvement this week.
The Australasians in the field are Steven Bowditch, Jarrod Lyle, Matt Jones, Nathan Green, Robert Allenby, Gavin Coles, Peter Lonard, Greg Norman and New Zealander Danny Lee.
Norman is the course designer and has played the tournament on one previous occasion missing the cut at that time. Norman plays very little these days but just his presence in the tournament will add something special to the week.
Jarrod Lyle seems to have an affinity with Mexico having won the Mexico Open on the Nationwide Tour previously and having finished inside the top ten in three of his four starts in this event. Lyle was very good last week in Los Angeles and this could be the perfect opportunity to win his first PGA Tour event.
In another time and another place Allenby would be in the Accenture Match Play field but for the first time since 2001 he has not made it. He is currently 70th in the World Ranking and with the Accenture going down to the leading 66 he is in this field. It is a little hard to get a line of his form of late but he does play pretty well on bermuda greens and on courses such as this.
Peter Lonard has begun to show some form of late, finishing 13th last week after leading early in the Nationwide event in Colombia, 4th at the Victorian Open and 9th at the J.B. Were Masters. Clearly this is another level again but having finished 3rd and 7th in this event in two of his three starts he might be a chance for another good week. he will be keen to take advantage of one of the few PGA Tour starts he will get this season.
Discuss this article in our forums
