The World Wide Technology Championship 2023, to give it its full name, resumes the new PGA season after the Tour took a break last week. This was the first PGA tournament to take place in Mexico when it debuted in 2007, and it is being played for the first time at the El Cardonal Course at Los Cabos.
It is a varied field heading south of the border and many of the world’s top golfers are still to play their first event of the new season. Despite that, it should be a competitive four days, so let’s see if we can pick out some winners with this WWT Championship preview and its predictions and picks.
At the head of this week’s outright winner market with the finest stateside sportsbooks, Sweden’s Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg is in the clear by some distance at best industry odds of 9/1 with the bookies. Aberg will be on debut at most Tour events across the season, so there’s no previous record to consider but he is clear in the Rookie of the Year race. He arrives in Mexico in a solid run of form. Victory at the European Masters and an impressive Ryder Cup put the Swede at the top of the betting lines this week.
Next comes Cameron Young at best odds of 14/1, followed by Sahith Theegala at a top price of 16/1. Theegala won the first tournament of the new season, claiming the Fortinet Championship by two clear strokes in September, while Young is the highest ranked player on show here at number 17 in the official world golf list.
Moving through this section, Lucas Glover and Stephan Jaeger can both be backed at a best of 25/1, while Beau Hossler and Emiliano Grillo are further back at 28/1. Glover is making his first appearance of the new season, while Jaeger has made the last 15 cuts and is ranking well in relevant stats, including Strokes Gained: Tee to Green.
Other to look at in the mid-range betting odds include Thomas Detry at 30/1, J.J. Spaun at 33/1, plus Chris Kirk, Akshay Bhatia and Adam Svensson who are all at 35/1. Of those names, Spaun looks in good touch after a tie for sixth at the Zozo Championship.
Luke List and Keith Mitchell head the list of underdogs this week, with both players available at best odds of 40/1. List features at a lofty number five in the Power Rankings, as it is felt that his combination of power and precision could be a good fit.
Lucas Herbert is next at 45/1, while Mark Hubbard, Taylor Pendrith and Justin Suh are all listed at 50/1. Further back at 55/1, is our first former WWT Champion. Matt Kuchar won this tournament by one stroke over Danny Lee in 2018, and he has two top 20 finishes in his last three starts.
Also available at best odds of 55/1 is Cameron Champ who is attracting some interest with bettors this week. His distance hitting could be suited to this course, and a strong showing with the putter has yielded two straight top 20 finishes.
Others to consider in this longshot section include Andrew Putnam at 66/1, Taylor Montgomery at 66/1, Callum Tarren at 70/1, Brandon Wu at 90/1, Mackenzie Hughes at 100/1 and Troy Merritt at 110/1.
Our Preview’s WWT Championship 2023 Course & Betting Trends with Predictions & Picks Verdict
The El Cardonal Course at Los Cabos in Baja California Sur is a par 72 and it has some generous length at around 7,363 yards. It is a new venue for this tournament after the previous location at El Camaleon switched to the LIV Golf circuit.
As an unknown quantity to the players in the field, we could see a long odds winner come through, so what are the key characteristics of this course? El Cardonal was designed by Tiger Woods, and his qualities for scoring low on Par 5s are in evidence. The power hitters should be looking for clear birdie chances on the par 5s here, so distance will be rewarded in places. There is punishment for wayward drives, but there are expansive greens measuring 8,300 square feet on average.
Viktor Hovland became the first, and, so far only multiple winner of the WWT Championship when he went back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, so there is some encouragement for the former champions in this field.
A combination of power and precision is needed, and that’s why we’re coming back to Lucas Glover. As last season came to a close, he was the form golfer, with a solid power and accuracy game, backed up by a big improvement in putting. He captured back-to-back wins in August and has all the qualities needed to succeed again in this mixed field. So the 2023 WWT Championship predictions and picks for this betting preview are:
- Lucas Glover to win at best odds of +2500 (25/1) with Bovada or BetOnline. He is 22/1 with EveryGame.
- Top 10 Finishes (all odds with BetOnline, the only firm with odds currently): Lucas Glover (+275), Stephan Jaeger (+275), Luke List (+400) and Cameron Champ (+475).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.