The PGA Tour heads south of the border for Mayakoba Golf Classic (formerly the OHL Classic at Mayakoba). Here’s the key info for this week’s event.
Golf course: Located 37 miles south of Cancun along the Caribbean Sea in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, at the Mayakoba Resort, the El Camaleon Golf Club opened in 2006 and was designed by Greg Norman (his first course design to open in Mexico). It will play as a par 71 (36-35) at 6,987 yards.
Purse: $7.2 million ($1.3 million to winner).
TV schedule (all times Eastern): Golf Channel, Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Live streaming: Click here to watch live coverage of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Thursday-Sunday from 1-4 p.m.
Notables in the field: Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Tony Finau, Pat Perez, Billy Horschel, Matt Kuchar, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, Patton Kizzire, Harold Varner III, Charley Hoffman, Sam Saunders, Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Cameron Champ
Notable tee times (all times Eastern):
Rickie Fowler, Aaron Wise, Emiliano Grillo – 7:30 a.m. Thursday, 12 p.m. Friday
Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar – 7:40 a.m. Thursday, 12:10 p.m. Friday
Jordan Spieth, Patton Kizzire, Pat Perez – 12 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Friday
Cameron Champ, Tony Finau, Jhonattan Vegas – 12:10 p.m. Thursday, 7:40 a.m. Friday
Key stats:
• The lowest 18-hole score in tournament history is 61 by Roland Thatcher in the third round in 2008. The lowest 72-hole score in event history is 263 by Harris English in 2013 and by Pat Perez in 2016.
• The week’s field includes three of the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking, six major champions, seven of the 11 winners of this event and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion.
• Patton Kizzire defeated Rickie Fowler by one stroke to earn his first career PGA Tour win last year. No winner has ever successfully defended their title and no runner-up has come back to win the next year.
• Americans have won 10 of the first 11 editions of this event with only international winner being Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (2015).
• This is the 12th Mayakoba Golf Classic, which was the first official PGA Tour event to be played in Mexico. Fred Funk won the inaugural tournament in 2007 in a playoff over Jose Coceres.
• The purse is now nearly double what it was in 2012 when this event was last held opposite a WGC event and offered just $3.7 million.
• In addition to the prize money, winner receives 500 FedExCup points, two-year PGA Tour exemption and invitations to the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, Players, Masters, and PGA Championship.
Stats and information provided by the Golf Channel editorial research unit
Source: Internet
