The PGA Tour moves from the desert to the Mexican coast this week, teeing it up at Playa del Carmen. It may seem like a vacation spot, but players will be hard at work trying to get a leg up in the FedEx Cup. Since its inception in 2007, a mix of first time winners and grizzled veterans have hoisted the trophy. Fred Funk won in 2007 at age 50 and John Huh won in 2012 at age 22, meaning that age is not a factor. Both old and young will need to make a lot of birdies this week. The average winning score the last 5 years is 19 under par. Scores in the mid 60s on Sunday could make things interesting coming down the stretch. Better put away the surfboards and get that extra practice round in.
Greg’s Pick of the Week: Scott Piercy
Piercy qualifies as one of those grizzled veterans that flies under the radar. I bet you didn’t know he won a tournament this year, eh? How about his back to back top tens coming into the week? He’s a wonderful ball striker and streaky putter. Most importantly, he’s rounding into form after a sluggish second half of 2018. Expect to see him around the leaders as he builds on the T-10 and T-5. He also finished T-4 in 2017 at this venue.
Back to the Range: Jordan Spieth
I love Jordan, but he’s clearly working on some changes to his game. After a promising start last week in Vegas, he faded to a distant T-55 finish. His birdie average is 4.75 to start the season, so if he can straighten out his tee shots (3.87 strokes lost off the tee) he might contend in his first go round at Mayakoba. His stats are never flashy, but grit goes a long way. He was also passed in world golf rankings by el Tigre this week; the first time since 2014. Range session: SUGGESTED