Damien Kayat shares his best bet, value bets and more from LIV Golf Mayakoba 2023.
2023 LIV Golf Tour
LIV Golf Mayakoba
El Camaleon Golf Club, Mexico
24th-26th February
This is going to be a decisive year in the future of LIV Golf. Ongoing legal battles aside, the golfing world has finally come to terms with the fact that LIV Golf is a reality.
But has it been a success? The current promotional materials- mercilessly pushing the uninvolving team aspect of LIV- are pretty embarrassing. And one of the biggest ‘gets’ in LIV Golf- Brooks Koepka- is reportedly experiencing buyer’s remorse after joining the tour.
Add to that the fact that the PGA Tour is producing some of the most exciting week-to-week golf you can hope to see. And what new acquisitions has LIV got to offer?
Thomas Pieters and Brendan Steele are hardly the names to get bums on seats. Just a year in and it seems as if LIV is starting to struggle for relevance.
LIV Golf Mayakoba
I’m purely going to focus on the 48-man individual field. I’m really not interested in getting into the nitty-gritty of the team format.
The inaugural LIV Golf campaign saw seven 54-hole tournaments. It has expanded to double that amount this year. And the first event this year will mark one of the debut events on this year’s calendar: the LIV Golf Mayakoba.
El Camaleon
El Camaleon was a popular destination on the US PGA Tour and this course will be quite familiar to golfing enthusiasts. El Camaleon was actually designed by LIV mastermind Greg Norman.
The Paspalum layout is a visual wonder, weaving its way through tropical jungle, dense mangroves and stunning oceanfront. This is a short, tricky track that is at the mercy of the wind.
The Sea Isle Paspalum greens are grainy and unique. This course was actually one of the tougher short courses on the PGA Tour when played in this February timeslot.
Players will need to avoid the sticky rough and remain accurate with their irons.
The Contenders
Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann lead the markets this year. DJ won the individual honours in 2022 and is a logical favourite this week. Joaquin Niemann finished runner-up to Johnson in Boston last year and will feel a win is somewhere around the corner.
Open champion Cameron Smith will be buoyed by the news that LIV defectors will be allowed to participate at this year’s Open. He has been in poor form of late and will be hoping to kickstart his year here.
Abraham Ancer has been in good form and will no doubt enjoy some uproarious home support. Elsewhere, the likes of Bryson Dechambeau and Phil Mickelson will always attract attention.
It will be interesting to see how motivated everyone looks as this new season gets underway.
To Win Outright:
Dustin Johnson (17/2), Joaquin Niemann (17/2), Cameron Smith (10/1), Abraham Ancer (10/1), Sergio Garcia (18/1)
Value Bets
Carlos Ortiz- To Win 28/1 | To Place 11/2
Carlos Ortiz looks like terrific value this week. The Mexican will obviously enjoy some fanatical home support this week. He also has an incredible recent record at Mayakoba. He has finished seconnd, eighth and second in his last three appearances. And he also flew out of the blocks in last year’s LIV Golf series, finishing second in Portland and fourth in Bedminster. That combination of course form and early LIV success makes him a great pick this week.
Charl Schwartzel- To Win 50/1 | To Place 10/1
Schwartzel came into LIV with a bang, winning the inaugural event staged in London last year. He ended last year in excellent form, posting two top-nine finishes in his last three events. In his last full season on the US PGA tour, the former Masters champ boasted a GIR north of 66%. He also finished in the positive for strokes gained putting. Those two stats should come in handy this week. He made the cut in his only appearance here and I like his chances this week.
The Man to Beat- Abraham Ancer- To Win 10/1 | To Place 2/1
I think there’s a lot to like about hometown hero Abraham Ancer. The former WGC champion is undoubtedly the most in-form player amongst the favourites. He won the Saudi International earlier this month (on a course that is also set to Paspalum grass). Ancer focuses on accuracy from tee to green and his surgical iron play really suits El Camelon. This is reflected in course figures of 9-21-8-12-7.
