World Wide Technology Championship 2025 Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Two weeks ago, Michael Brennan made his third career PGA Tour start and his first as a professional. Brennan took advantage of the opportunity and won the Bank of Utah Championship at a 60-1 price. He is now fully exempt on the PGA Tour through the end of 2027 and makes his first start as a PGA Tour winner this week (33-1) at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
The FedExCup Fall has its third-to-last event this week in Cabo San Lucas. A pair of U.S. Ryder Cup players — Ben Griffin (12-1) and J.J. Spaun (12-1) — head up the odds board.
Max Greyserman (20-1) was fourth here last year and was runner-up four weeks ago at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan, while Michael Thorbjornsen (22-1) was third in said event.
Rico Hoey (22-1) finished second and fourth, respectively, in his last two PGA Tour events. Garrick Higgo (25-1) is also coming into this week on hot form, having finished fourth, second and seventh in his last three PGA Tour events.
The next rung of the odds board includes Si Woo Kim (22-1), Kevin Yu (28-1), Thorbjørn Olesen (30-1), who has finished third and ninth in his last two events, Nick Taylor (40-1), Wyndham Clark (40-1) and Emiliano Grillo (40-1).
Defending champion Austin Eckroat, a winner for this column in last year’s event, is 60-1.
Here is a table of this week’s odds courtesy of Oddschecker.
The Event
The World Wide Technology Championship debuted as the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February 2007 as an alternate event that was held opposite the WGC Match Play. In 2013, the event was moved to November as part of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series. With that move, the tournament became designated as a “full event,” meaning that full FedEx Cup points would be allocated along with a Masters invitation for the winner.
In 2021, St. Louis-based technology services provider World Wide Technology, named as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies by Time Magazine, signed on as the title sponsor of the tournament through 2027.
The FedExCup Fall events no longer guarantee a Masters invitation, but the winner receives 500 FedExCup points.
The World Wide Technology Championship is the fifth event of the FedExCup Fall.
Nos. 51-70 in the FedExCup at the start of the fall have already clinched their top-100 eligibility for the following year, but are competing for spots in the first two Signature Events of 2025.
Nos. 71 and beyond can earn one of the 10 spots available in those Signature Events, but they are also competing to finish in the top 100 of the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the fall.
At the end of the FedExCup Fall, those who rank from 101-125 on the final FedExCup Fall Points List will have conditional status for the 2025 PGA Tour Season.
The Field
120 players are in this week’s World Wide Technology Championship field.
Here is a list of the few players right at or around No. 100 and on the bubble for full PGA Tour status next season.
The Course
El Cardonal at Diamante, which opened in 2014, is the initial foray into golf course design for Tiger Woods. It is located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the Diamante Cabo San Lucas Resort, located at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula in the state of Baja California Sur. It is a par-72 of 7,452 yards.
The course is set in desert terrain. There is zero rough at El Cardonal, and errant tee shots in many cases will find arroyos in a sandy or rocky location. Fairways are generous at 60 yards wide (the widest on tour) in landing areas, with only the Plantation Course at Kapalua featuring such wide landing areas.
That link to Kapalua fits as this layout is set on land that drops 240 feet along the mile-long stretch from the 17th tee to the third fairway. The undulations and this terrain will prove to be demanding. Flat holes are few and far between, with ascending (par-5 14th climbs the most at 80 feet) and descending (par-5 sixth falls the most at 70 feet) holes.
Furthermore, in 2023, it played as the second-easiest course on tour (behind only the Plantation Course at Kapalua), averaging -3.01 strokes per round. Last year, it played a bit more difficult with an average score of -1.74 per round but was still on the easier side as only the 37th most difficult course out of 51 total for the 2024 PGA Tour season.
Greens (rolling at 11-12 feet on the stimpmeter) are huge at an average of 8,300 square feet and are the second largest on the PGA Tour. The course is Platinum Paspalum from tee to green.
Every hole basically has an open front as to be able to run the ball up onto the green.
El Cardonal is similar to Vidanta Vallarta, which hosts the Mexico Open in the spring. Both courses have wide fairways and are comprised of Paspalum from tee through green. It can be exposed to wind, but that is essentially the lone defense on this track.
Aside from the aforementioned Plantation Course at Kapalua and Vidanta Vallarta, Corales, TPC Craig Ranch, and Black Desert, Port Royal, and Grand Reserve are also correlated courses to El Cardonal.
The Los Cabos Beach Golf Real Estate page provides a short video on YouTube.
Weather
Wind is the only defense to prevent even lower scoring here at El Cardonal. Per the AccuWeather forecast, the wind looks fairly mild for this week’s event.
World Wide Technology Championship Recent History
2024: Austin Eckroat (-24/264); 45-1
2023: Erik van Rooyen (-27/261); 100-1
2022: Russell Henley (-23/261); 55-1
2021: Viktor Hovland (-23/261); 18-1
2020: Viktor Hovland (-20/264); 22-1
2019: Brendon Todd (-20/264); 110-1
2018: Matt Kuchar (-22/262); 60-1
2017: Patton Kizzire (-19/265); 70-1
2016: Pat Perez (-21/263); 125-1
2015: Graeme McDowell (-18/266); 33-1 *
2014: Charley Hoffman (-17/267); 60-1
2013: Harris English (-21/263); 25-1
2012: John Huh (-13/271); 35-1**
2011: Johnson Wagner (-17/267); 150-1*
2010: Cameron Beckman (-15/269); 100-1
Playoff win over Jason Bohn and Russell Knox – *
Playoff win over Robert Allenby – **
Playoff win over Spencer Levin – ***
NOTE: This event was played at El Cardonal at Diamante in 2023. All of the previous events were played at El Camaleon at Mayakoba.
Statistical Analysis
We do not have ShotLink data for the last two years of this event, so it is a bit of a guessing game in terms of modeling, but we can make educated guesses based on the layout of the course.
For instance, the fairways are so wide here that the average Driving Accuracy percentage was near 90%, so you probably will not include or factor in much off the tee metrics this week.
The best starting point this week should be with the irons since players will be hitting their second shots almost exclusively from the fairways.
Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)
- J.J. Spaun 0.738
- Rico Hoey 0.657
- Ben Kohles 0.642
- Henrik Norlander 0.639
- Doug Ghim 0.521
- Sami Valimaki 0.503
- Antoine Rozner 0.486
- Victor Perez 0.479
- Ben Griffin 0.466
- Zac Blair 0.434
- Greyson Sigg 0.427
- Nick Taylor 0.427
- Lee Hodges 0.425
- Si Woo Kim 0.423
- Thomas Rosenmueller 0.368
With some of the widest fairways that these players will see all season, they can grip it and rip it off the tee.
Average Driving Distance (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Jesper Svensson 321.5
- Niklas Norgaard 320.2
- Michael Thorbjornsen 318.4
- Trevor Cone 317.3
- Trey Mullinax 316.7
- Will Gordon 315.9
- Luke Clanton 314.9
- Keith Mitchell 314.5
- Isaiah Salinda 314.3
- Kris Ventura 314.0
- Steven Fisk 313.9
- Matti Schmid 313.7
- Ricky Castillo 312.8
- Thomas Rosenmueller 312.8
- Nick Hardy 312.4
While the course played a bit tougher last year, there is little wind this week and El Cardonal is a resort course that will not pose much of a challenge to these players.
Birdie Or Better Percentage (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Taylor Montgomery 25.10%
- Michael Thorbjornsen 24.96
- Jesper Svensson 24.89
- Keith Mitchell 24.85
- Kevin Yu 24.66
- Rico Hoey 23.86
- Matti Schmid 23.82
- Isaiah Salinda 23.68
- Wyndham Clark 23.54
- Trey Mullinax 23.43
- Max Greyserman 23.35
- Niklas Norgaard 23.26
- Stephan Jaeger 23.14
- Kevin Roy 23.00
- Sam Ryder 22.92
The par-5s are must birdie holes or better when the scoring is this low.
Strokes Gained Par-5s (Last 50 rounds)
- Ben Griffin 33.5
- Thorbjørn Olesen 24.5
- Pierceson Coody 22.8
- Matt Wallace 16.4
- Keith Mitchell 16
- Vince Whaley 12.9
- Steven Fisk 12.9
- Garrick Higgo 12.7
- Luke Clanton 12.6
- Jesper Svensson 12.6
- Taylor Montgomery 12
- Isaiah Salinda 10.6
- Max McGreevy 10.4
- Chan Kim 10
- Wyndham Clark 9.9
Paspalum greens are more regularly featured on coastal courses near bodies of saltwater because they are more tolerant of salt. Paspalum is typically south of the border and used on many courses in Asia. Players on the PGA Tour only see these greens a couple of times per season.
Strokes Gained: Putting — Paspalum Greens (Last 24 rounds)
- Chan Kim 13.2 (19 rounds)
- Davis Riley 12.2 (18 rounds)
- Stephan Jaeger 10.5
- Emiliano Grillo 10.4
- Ben Silverman 10.2 (18 rounds)
- Justin Lower 8.6
- Frankie Capan 8.6 (5 rounds)
- Sami Valimaki 8.2 (8 rounds)
- Ben Griffin 7.4 (21 rounds)
- Henrik Norlander 7
- Eric Cole 6.4 (4 rounds)
- Quade Cummins 6.3 (11 rounds)
- Ben Kohles 6.3
- Patrick Rodgers 6
- Rafael Campos 5.6
- Isaiah Salinda 5.1 (5 rounds)
- Andrew Putnam 5
Due to these greens being large, the three-putt rate at El Cardonal is one of the highest on tour.
Three-Putt Percentage (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Braden Thornberry 1.36%
- Matt Kuchar 1.69
- Kevin Roy 1.76
- Emiliano Grillo 1.81
- Jeremy Paul 1.82
- Mark Hubbard 1.89
- Vince Whaley 1.89
- Beau Hossler 1.98
- Chad Ramey 1.98
- Brandt Snedeker 2.04
- Paul Peterson 2.08
- Sam Ryder 2.08
- Cristobal Del Solar 2.09
- Adam Hadwin 2.22
- Andrew Putnam 2.22
The average Scrambling percentage on the PGA Tour is 58.51% but has averaged a little under 54% at El Cardonal.
Scrambling Percentage (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Takumi Kanaya 68.07%
- Matt Kuchar 66.38
- Andrew Putnam 66.22
- Vince Whaley 65.03
- Ricky Castillo 63.80
- Lee Hodges 63.74
- Ben Griffin 63.33
- Brandt Snedeker 63.29
- Sam Ryder 63.16
- Matt Wallace 63.16
- Taylor Montgomery 63.13
- Greyson Sigg 62.91
- Patrick Rodgers 62.84
- Jacob Bridgeman 62.70
- Nick Taylor 62.69
- Kaito Onishi 62.64
Selections
Max Greyserman (21-1, Circa Sports)
Greyserman is currently No. 51 in the FedExCup standings and is, for the most part, locked into the first two “Signature” events of the 2026 season. However, the first PGA Tour victory has eluded him with four runner-up finishes over the last two seasons in addition to three on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023.
He was fourth here last year at El Cardonal.
Johnny Keefer (55-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Keefer was two wins, two runners-up and five other top-10s on the Korn Ferry Tour this season and will be full-time on the PGA Tour in 2026.
He is currently No. 53 in the OWGR and a strong finish to 2025 should get him into the year-end top 50 to earn a Masters invitation.
Matt Kuchar (60-1, Bet365)
Kuchar won this event in 2018 when it was still held at Mayakoba and was runner-up here at El Cardonal in 2023.
He currently sits 121st in the FedExCup standings and, at age 47, is trying to get into the Top 100 and keep his tour card for one more season.
With three top-20 finishes in his last four PGA Tour events, “Kooch” is making a late rally.
Isaiah Salinda (105-1, Circa Sports)
Last time the PGA Tour was in Mexico, Salinda finished third in the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta.
He is a big hitter off the tee and ranks 10th on the tour for Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee.
Salinda is currently 104th in the FedExCup standings and needs to get into the Top 100 to retain his card for next season.
Justin Lower (130-1, Circa Sports)
In his last start, Lower was third at the Bank of Utah Championship.
He was runner-up in this event last year and was third at the 2024 Mexico Open, so Lower clearly likes playing south of the border.
Like many others in this field, he is fighting for playing privileges and is 109th in the FedExCup standings.
Chan Kim (200-1, BetMGM)
Chan Kim has missed six of seven cuts coming into this week.
However, he has typically played well in these events on Paspalum outside the United States with multiple top-10s in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
