A field of 120 tee it up at Vidanta Vallarta this week for the Mexico Open on the PGA Tour.
Englishman Marco Penge tied 20th in the Spanish Open on the DP World Tour in his last tournament, but he finished last of the weekend qualifiers in his previous PGA Tour outing - the Bank of Utah Championship at the start of this month.
The betting community love to invest in the first-round leader market, which pays out three days earlier than the outright market, and Penge is 35/1 for Thursday's 18-hole battle for the top of the leaderboard.
Wyndham Clark is 22/1 favourite to be first-round leader. He has finished 67th and 24th in his two previous starts in the Mexico Open, opening with rounds of 68 and 73 on each occasion.
This has been a fantastic season for the world number five, although he tied 63rd at the Baycurrent Classic last time out.
The tournament starts at 13:05 UK and Ireland time on Thursday and a sunny and hot first day is forecast, with some light to moderate breezes, so birdies should be freely available on a straightforward course.
Mexico Open Tips Summary
Best Bet - Benjamin James first-round leader each-way @ 30/1
Alternative Bet - Neal Shipley first-round leader each-way @ 40/1
Alternative Bet - Pontus Nyholm first-round leader each-way @ 125/1
Mexico Open Prediction
Best Bet: Benjamin James each-way @ 30/1
Rising star Benjamin James could be set for a fast start at Vidanta Vallarta, with a perfect launchpad from the 08:44 local time (14:44 UK) threeball, with Penge and John Daly II for company.
This powerhouse trio will attack the course in the same fashion, with driver coming out as much as possible and aggressive lines off the tee, and they could inspire each other to a positive Thursday.
James was second in the world amateur rankings just before he made the switch to the paid ranks in the summer, then he fired a round of 63 in his first event as a professional - in the Canadian Open in June.
He has since become a leaderboard regular on the PGA Tour, finishing fourth in the Corales Puntacana Championship, third in the Wyndham Championship, runner-up in the Biltmore Championship and fifth in the Bank of Utah Championship.
Expect this immense ball-striker to bounce back from a missed cut at an unsuitable Bermuda Championship venue by threatening first-round-leader honours in Mexico.
Alternative Bet: Neal Shipley each-way @ 40/1
Clark and Tom Kim will not be happy with their draw - they have been fierce Presidents Cup foes in the past and are not fond of each other, so playing together in the 18:18 threeball presents challenges.
There should be a much better atmosphere in the 18:51 threeball, where the gregarious Neal Shipley can make waves. Shipley is one of the best drivers on the PGA Tour and that gift sets him up well to make mincemeat of the scoring holes at Vidanta Vallarta.
Shipley, third in the Biltmore Championship a month ago, followed up with 10th spot in Utah and brings confidence to a track which suits him well. A fast start seems likely.
Alternative Bet: Pontus Nyholm each-way @ 125/1
Long drivers can make merry on the enormous, wide-open fairways of Vidanta Vallarta - the rough is minimal if the cut and prepared is missed, so Pontus Nyholm will be relishing the assignment.
The Swedish slugger, who won the Korn Ferry Tour last season, should fall in love with this layout and may put some poor recent results behind him.
The 28-year-old seems worth chancing at huge odds to end day one atop the leaderboard.
Key Tournament Stats
Vidanta Vallarta is a 7,337-yard, par-71, with four par-fives.
There are two course winners in this field - Tony Finau and Brian Campbell.
The course record is 61, fired by Jon Rahm in a low-scoring 2023 edition.
Only one member of the world's top 25 is in this field.
All four winners at Vidanta Vallarta finished the week in the top three of the strokes-gained tee-to-green statistics.
The last three winners of this event have been American.
Read more golf betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
