World No. 2 Jon Rahm returns to the PGA Tour for the first time since finishing 27th in the Masters when he tees off in the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta, which begins on Thursday at Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, Mexico. The reigning U.S. Open champion has seven top-25 and four top-10 finishes this year, but he hasn’t won since prevailing in the Open at Torrey Pines in June. Rahm has been installed as the 5-1 betting favorite in the latest Mexico Open odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Three players – two-time Tour winner Tony Finau, former U.S. Open champ Gary Woodland and Abraham Ancer, who grew up in Mexico – are the co-second choices in the 132-player Mexico Open field, at 20-1.
Will Rahm get back on track and prevail in Mexico? Or will Ancer notch a win in his home country? Before making any Fantasy golf rankings or locking in any bets on the 2022 Mexico Open, you need to check out the Fantasy golf projections and lineup advice from SportsLine Fantasy expert Riley Gates.
Gates is a writer for 247Sports and has covered a range of sports for nearly five years. He has followed golf closely for much longer and has a profound knowledge of the sport. He also knows what it takes to win, on the course and in Fantasy sports.
He has been on a roll all season. At the Masters, eight of his 20 picks finished in the top eight, including winner Scottie Scheffler and runner-up Rory McIlroy. In fact, the top four players on the final leaderboard were among his picks. At the Valspar Championship, seven of his picks finished in the top 12, and he was on the money at Phoenix, where his five top selections all ended up in the top 10. He also nailed his picks at the Sentry, with four of his top seven picks posting top-five finishes, and he duplicated that at the Hero World Challenge. Anyone who has followed Gates is way up.
Now, Gates has ranked his top 20 players for the 2022 Mexico Open, and you’ll really want to see what he has to say. You can only see his Fantasy golf rankings and Mexico Open picks at SportsLine.
2022 Mexico Open Fantasy golf expert picks
We can tell you he is low on the chances of Ancer, who is the co-second choice in the Mexico Open odds, at 20-1. A 31-year-old who was raised in Reynosa, Mexico, Ancer showed good form last month in reaching the quarterfinals of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play. His run was highlighted by a 7 & 6 victory over No. 2 seed Collin Morikawa in the Round of 16.
But Ancer has struggled in stroke play. “He has missed two straight cuts in stroke-play events and has not been inside the top 30 since early December,” Gates says. Gates has Ancer outside of the top 10 in his Fantasy leaderboard.
On the other hand, Gates is high on Charles Howell III. A 50-1 long shot, Howell ranks 16th on Tour in sand save percentage (62.5), which should come in handy on a course featuring more than its share of greenside bunkers. He also ranks 14th in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (.400).
Gates is not worried that Howell is coming off a missed cut at the RBC Heritage. “Howell played solid golf in early March, finishing 32nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fourth at the Texas Open,” he says. Gates has Howell ranked sixth on his leaderboard.
How to set your 2022 Mexico Open Fantasy golf rankings
This week at Riviera, Gates is backing an enormous triple-digit long shot. Gates says this player was “right in the mix for the lead” recently and is a great play for your Fantasy golf picks for the 2022 Mexico Open. You can find out who it is and check out all of Gates’ top Mexico Open Fantasy golf picks at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 Mexico Open? Who are the top PGA Tour players to target for your Fantasy picks? And what triple-digit long shot is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get Riley Gates’ Fantasy golf rankings for the 2022 Mexico Open, all from the Fantasy expert with his finger on the pulse of the game, and find out.
