WGC – Mexico
Only 37 men have won 20 or more times on the PGA Tour, wait, make that 38. Dustin Johnson notched his 20th career PGA victory over the weekend, winning the WGC – Mexico.
This World Golf Championship event has been played under different sponsors in many locations throughout the years (7 courses in 5 countries, in fact). This is the third year the event has been played at the Club de Golf Chapultepec, situated in the sprawling metropolis of Mexico City.
The golf course sits at over 7,000 feet, so one of the interesting aspects of this tournament is watching the players do their best Bryson DeChambeau impersonations figuring out the yardages and proper club to hit. These guys were sending it in the thin air with reckless abandon all week.
A course set up like this favors the flat-out bombers. At altitude the ball still spins as much as it does at sea-level, however because the air is less dense the ball does not curve nearly as much. The shot shapers and imaginative players like Bubba Watson found themselves having difficulty executing the shots they saw in their head.
Over the weekend, both DJ and runner-up Rory McIlroy bombed multiple drives over 400 yards, effectively neutralizing one of the course’s biggest defenses it’s length. They hit irons off the tee at the 310-yard number one par-4 and virtually turned it into a log par-3. And, at one point on a 600+ yard par-5, DJ comfortably hit driver-short iron to the back of the green.
Rory said in his post-round interview that despite not winning the event he was pleased with the way he was playing, and that sometimes someone just plays a little better. He posited, so far this season, he’s 54-under par in his first 4 events.
This event has experienced a couple runs of dominance in its 20-year history. Tiger Woods won six of the first eight events; and more recently, Dustin Johnson has won three of the last five, including two out of the three times the event has been played at Chapultepec.
Dustin Johnson is an elite TaylorMade staffer. These are the clubs he used to win the WGC – Mexico (As reported by PGATOUR):
TaylorMade DJ Proto 4-PW
Shaft:
Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
TaylorMade TP5x
Puerto Rico Open
While Dustin Johnson was busy winning the WGC – Mexico championship, another PGA tournament was played this week in Puerto Rico.
Secondary events are important for Tour players who are lower on the priority order. With the Tour’s elite players battling it out in Mexico, the chances to grab a victory greatly increases.
These tournaments are also opportunities to make a paycheck as well as earn valuable FedEx Cup and Official World Golf Ranking Points. But, the real incentive is with the increased odds of winning, the job security that comes along with winning.
Martin Trainer took advantage of his opportunity this week, capturing his first career PGA Tour victory on the 11th start of his rookie season. in addition to a $540,000 pay day, Martin also gains a two-year exemption to the Tour.
Honda LPGA Thailand
The LPGA continued their season this week. South Korean Amy Yang caputred the Honda LPGA Thailand by one stroke over Australian Minjee Lee.
Played at the Siam Country Club, the two ladies were in a shootout from the start of the day. Tied at 15-under par, they battled all the way to 18 where Minjee Lee had an opportunity for eagle from 14-feet to force a playoff.
With Lee’s putt for eagle missing, Yang captured her 4th career LPGA victory. Spaniard Carlota Ciganda finished third, two shots behind Yang.
Keith Schneider
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