Mayakoba Leaderboard 2022: Will Gordon leads, Viktor Hovland chases at Global Tech Championship
The first round of the sneaky good Mayakoba event is in the books, and while the top of the leaderboard doesn’t jump off the page, the power of the field goes beyond the leaders.
Will Gordon and Russell Henley top this group 1-2 after shooting 62 and 63 respectively in Round 1, but the heavyweights have fallen a few points back and are looking to take the lead on Friday. and more. Let’s take a look back at how Thursday played out in Mayakoba.
Leader
1. Will Gordon (-9): Gordon made eight birds and one eagle on his way to the lead in his first round. The former Vanderbilt had a successful year on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, amassing six points in the top 10 (including a win) and sixth on the KFT scoreboard. His best finish on the PGA Tour, however, was T3 at the 2020 Travelers Championship. He said after age 62 that he is dodging what he has tried to do in the past by doing soften your expectations.
“I think that’s what I’ve tried to do in the past, but honestly, I’m going to try to enjoy that moment and keep moving forward,” Gordon said. “I don’t know what the rest of the week is going to be, with nothing promised and nothing given, so I just have to keep trying to go out and make money.”
Gordon’s season got off to a really good start as he appeared at each of the first four events of the year. It was interesting to hear him discuss what he has learned and how he has grown mentally thanks to the success of those he has competed against on KFT.
“There are a lot of guys my age and younger that are having a lot of success here and guys that have been here and had some great success that I grew up playing with,” said Gordon. “So… it really takes the fear out in a sense because you know you can do it, but you still have to go out and earn it. So it’s good to watch the class. KFT plays This fall and I’ve met a bunch of people like that, so it’s been an interesting transition this fall.”
Other candidates
2. Russell Henley (-8)
T3. Scott Piercy, Francesco Molinari, Sam Ryder, Harris English (-7)
T7. David Lingmerth, Martin Laird, Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland (-6)
The Big Dogs reside there at the T7 spot with Hovland taking his third straight win at the tournament and Scheffler aiming for a fifth PGA Tour win in 2022. They played together on Thursday and shot a best ball 60.
“You’re doing your own thing for the most part, but it’s great when you’re on the golf course and you can see other players hitting really good shots,” says Scheffler. “I think it’s a good motivation for the team, when someone starts playing well, others can sometimes eat away.”
Hovland’s final nine rounds at Mayakoba look like this: 67-69-63-65-67-65-62-67-65. That makes for an average of 65.6 over the past three seasons, which is completely absurd. However, Hovland says he can (and should) play better than he did on Thursday.
“I think the last two years I started under 4 and 5 under (He was 4 under in the first round of both wins), so even improved on that,” Hovland said. “Obviously I made a couple of putts and got out of the bunker. I did a lot of good things today, but at the same time I feel like I hit some bad shots. So I feel still there. opportunity for improvement.”
Where’s Morikawa?
I wouldn’t care about Collin Morikawa (or any of the top 10 players in the world) at the beginning of November any year. However, he shot a 71 on Thursday and is now a T90. If he finishes outside the top 25 (which seems like a probability right now), that would mark three events in a row to start the season where he hasn’t made the top 25. That’s worth it. to track.
2022 Mayakoba odds, picks
- Scottie Scheffler: 6-1
- Viktor Hovland: 13/2
- Russell Henley: 9-1
- Will Gordon: 14-1
- Harris English: 18-1
- Maverick McNealy: 18-1
- Tom Hoge: 22-1
- Francesco Molinari: 22-1
That’s a pretty interesting board right now. The Scheffler is a bit too short for my liking, although I did love Hovland at 2/13. Hoge at the age of 22-1 is speaking my language. I’ve been riding the Hoge train for weeks now, and he couldn’t stop scoring in the mid-60s. He’s one of the best iron players in the world that nobody doesn’t know about. The value here is probably with Tony Finau – my pre-tournament pick – at 35-1. He is 3 people behind and only 4 people behind in third place. That’s nothing for a scorer like Big Tone in a place like Mayakoba, and I believe he’s shaken off any rust he’s picked up in Round 1.
