WGC-Mexico: Top 10 power rankings at Chapultepec

The PGA Tour steps outside the US for the first time in 2020 this week at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

For the first time in 2020, the PGA Tour exits the USA borders. We’re at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Mexico, for the fourth edition of the WGC-Mexico Championship. This venue replaces Doral in Miami, Florida, which hosted what was then known as the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

The course is far from the best in Mexico, let alone Mexico City, but it’s got the infrastructure to be able to host this type of event. The Willie Smith/Alex Smith layout opened in 1921 and was redesigned by Percy Clifford in 1972. It’s a tree-lined layout measuring 7,345 yards for a par 71.

That number is a bit deceiving as players gain distance due to the 7,800-feet elevation.

The greens are poa annua and tend to be a bit bumpy and inconsistent. Plenty of bunkers and water hazards give the course some teeth. Despite the narrow fairways, Chapultepec has still tended to skew toward the bombers. There are enough angles to score from the trees, not dissimilar from Augusta, and it’s a pretty straightforward test.

Winning scores have been 14-under, 16-under and 21-under.

The early weather forecast shows a dry, warm week with temperatures peaking in the 70s and 80s with lows in the 50s. Winds are in the low double digits in miles per hour. All in all, pretty benign.

Like all WGCs, we’ve got a good field this week led by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy. We are, however, missing several notables. That includes No. 2 Brooks Koepka, No. 6 Patrick Cantlay, No. 9 Tiger Woods and No. 12 Justin Rose. Jason Day and Henrik Stenson are also resting.

There are 67 players in the field at this no-cut, guaranteed money/FedEx Cup event.

I’m more interested, though, in dwelling on who will be in Mexico this week. Let’s dive into the top 10.