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Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta. Daily fantasy golf advice on under-owned golfers and who to avoid for your lineups.
Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for your PGA DFS research. After last week's Zurich Classic team event, we return to normal individual stroke play at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Mexico Open. While it's impossible to hit on every golfer, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta - PGA DFS Overview
The Course: Vidanta Villarta
Par 71 - 7,456 Yards, Greens: Paspalum, Designed By: Greg Norman
We entered last year's Mexico Open with more questions than answers about this Vidanta Villarta layout. Our speculation that bombers with the ability to rack up birdies in bunches would thrive on this Greg Norman design turned out to be pretty darned accurate in last year's edition, so there's little reason to change our target model this go around.
A fairly lengthy Par-71 with generous fairways, Vidanta Villarta yielded a winning score of 17-under par to Jon Rahm last year, which means it wasn't quite the true birdie-fest of 20+ under par that I expected. Scores were kept - somewhat - in check by winds that gusted upwards of 30 mph at times last year and those winds will remain the only real defense for this golf course again in 2023. I'll once again be targeting bombers off that tee that are good with long-iron approaches (last year's Mexico Open featured a number of approach shots from 200+ yards that's exponentially higher than the Tour average) and have the ability to make lots of birdies. Pretty straightforward stuff.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Vidanta Villarta | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 296 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 62% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 66% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 57% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.54 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- Driving Distance
- Birdies or Better Gained
- SG: Approach (200+ Yards)
- SG: Putting (Paspalum)
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Jon Rahm ($12,600)
Jon Rahm is a 60-ton tank rolling up against a field full of slingshots this week. The Spaniard is not only the defending Mexico Open champion, but is also the No. 1 ranked player in the world and fresh off a victory at the Masters, which marked his second career major championship and fourth win of the calendar year.
Rahm's game has no real weaknesses at the moment and he just so happens to thrive in the facets of the game that will pay dividends at Vidanta Villarta. He's very long off the tee (13th in field Driving Distance L50) and elite on long approaches (first in field Proximity from 175-200 & 200+ yards).
The only legitimate concerns with Rahm are his ownership and motivation. While there isn't much we can do about how popular he'll be on this slate, we have to feel confident that he enters this week motivated to win. He's displayed a strong track record of mopping up against weaker competition in "lesser" events, including this year's AmEx, as well as multiple international wins throughout his career.
Tony Finau ($12,300)
If the aforementioned Rahm is the Abrams tank in this week's field, Tony Finau is the bulletproof Humvee with a side-mounted rocket launcher. Along with Rahm, Finau is the only player teeing it up this week that ranks inside the OWGR top 50 (No. 16) and stands the best chance of slowing the Spaniard's roll to a repeat in the Mexico Open.
Finau is a natural fit for Vidanta Villarta thanks to his length off the tee (36th in field Driving Distance), Par-5 scoring (third in field SG: Par-5s), and ability to handle long Par-4s (fifth SG on Par-4s measuring 450-500 yards). He also grades out second in this field (to Rahm, of course) in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 50 rounds.
He's gained strokes T2G in every start this year and gained an average of 4.8 strokes on Approach over his last five measured tournaments. Finau flashed the ability to dominate weaker fields last year with three wins in his last seven starts of 2022 and this is a terrific opportunity for him to add another win to his growing resume.
Patrick Rodgers ($11,200)
After the "Big Two" of Rahm and Finau, things were bound to turn ugly in a field such as this. Let's kick the "best of the rest" off with Patrick Rodgers, a player that scored a 10th-place finish in last year's Mexico Open and has flashed some form in his recent outings.
Rodgers started 2023 in nasty form but has recently rebounded by coring a T5 at the Valero Texas Open and following with a rock-solid T19 against elite competition at the RBC Heritage. Rodgers has gained a combined 16 strokes T2G across his last two starts.
The 30-year-old now brings that trending form to a Vidanta Villarta layout on which he gained 4.8 strokes T2G in last year's edition of the Mexico Open. Rodgers has also shown an affinity for Paspalum greens such as he'll see this week. He gained an eye-opening five strokes putting at Vidanta last year and grades out ninth in this week's field in SG: Putting on Paspalum.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Aaron Rai ($10,000)
Aaron Rai is a player I've been targeting often over the last several weeks with solid, if unspectacular returns. I don't know how much weight we want to give to his T13 in last week's Zurich with partner David Lipsky, but even if we toss that outing aside, the form is trending in the right direction.
His T48 result in Hilton Head doesn't do justice to just how well he played there. Rai opened the Heritage with a scorching 63 on Thursday, only for his putter to turn ice cold for the rest of the week. He ultimately lost 2.2 strokes putting but gained 4.8 strokes on Approach. It's been something of a pattern for the Englishman, who has now gained strokes with the irons in three of his last four starts.
I'm bullish on his talent - especially in comparison to this week's field - and he scored a T24 in last year's edition of this event.
Ben Martin ($9,900)
Martin missed the cut in last year's Mexico Open but enters this year's version as a vastly improved player. After graduating from the KFT Finals in 2022, he's been making the most of his opportunity on the PGA Tour this year, with a T5 at the Honda Classic standing as the highlight.
The Clemson alum heads to Vidanta Villarta on the heels of top-10 finishes in two of his last three individual starts. He's now gained strokes on Approach in six of his last seven outings and grades out fifth in this week's field in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 24 rounds.
Chez Reavie ($9,400)
Reavie has been on a milk carton for the better part of a year and missed six consecutive cuts at one point in 2023. Despite those not-so-long-ago struggles, the vet has recently turned things around thanks to drastically-improved iron play, as well as a putter that appears to coming around.
The 41-year-old has gained a massive 11.2 strokes on Approach over his last two starts, leading to strong finishes at both the Valero (T6) and Heritage (T11). Reavie has also demonstrated his prowess on lengthy second shots, ranking fourth in Proximity from 175-200 and 17th from 200+ yards over his last 50 measured rounds. The number of approach shots from 200+ yards that players faced in last year's Mexico Open (42.3%) was nearly double the PGA Tour average (22%) and Reavie is well equipped to handle that aspect of Vidanta Villarta, a layout on which he posted a T13 in last year's Mexico Open.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
MJ Daffue ($9,200)
The South African is a banger that's averaging just over 305 yards off the tee this season and stands 28th in this field in Driving Distance. That length has helped him to find some success as of late, as he heads to Mexico with top-30 finishes in four of his last five starts on the PGA Tour, not including a T26 in last week's Zurich team event.
Daffue grades out 11th in this field in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 24 rounds. His power and ability to go low make him an enticing salary saver on this watered-down slate.
Dylan Wu ($9,100)
The Northwestern alum has quietly put together a solid stretch of golf. Wu has run off seven consecutive made cuts, including a T10 at the Honda and a T35 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He's gained an average of 2.1 strokes on Approach across his last five starts.
Wu has proven himself capable of handling the types of demands that Vidanta will throw at him this week, as he currently stands 10th in the field in Proximity from 200+ yards. The 26-year-old certainly feels underpriced on this slate, as he stands 10th among Mexico Open entrants in SG: Ball Striking over his last 24 measured rounds.
Akshay Bhatia ($9,000)
The 21-year-old phenom is going to have a breakthrough on the PGA Tour at some point and this feels like the type of spot where it could happen. Bhatia has demonstrated his affinity for windy conditions, winning the Great Exuma KFT event in the blustery weather of the Bahamas last year.
In addition to that win, he's also fared well in other "resort" locations against weak fields, posting a T17 in Bermuda during the Swing Season, a runner-up in Puerto Rico last month, and a top-25 at Corales a few weeks ago. This kid is the very definition of a boom/bust player that's worth targeting in GPPs.
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