Following a thrilling West Coast swing highlighted by Rory McIlroy's victory at Pebble Beach and Rudy Wig Oberg's dramatic victory in San Diego, the PGA Tour will be bordering for Vidantaurdo's Mexican Open Head south of.
Many of the top players in the game have chosen to take a break this week. This will allow young PGA Tour stars and journeymen to shine. When Jake Knapp went from nightclub security to PGA Tour winner, he is not looking for what happened at the Mexico Open last year. Tournaments like this often produce the best stories despite the lack of many family names and top 10 players. They also shed light on up-and-coming people, and players should pay attention when it takes time.
One of those young players is Akshay Bhatia, a 23-year-old American who won Valero Texas Open last year. Batia hasn't missed a cut in the fourth start of this season, and arrives fresh in Mexico from the Torrey Pines T-9.
Other notables include Rasmus and Nikolai Hojard, who played for the European Ryder Cup team in 2023. Rasmus also posted a T-12 finish at WM Phoenix Open, but missed a cut at Torrey Pines last week. He struggled in the wind and rain on Thursday and posted the first round, 82, the worst round of his PGA Tour career to date. Meanwhile, his brother Nikolai did not have the best season in 2024, but he made a cut in 2025 at WM Phoenix, where his only PGA Tour begins. Perhaps he can straighten the ship this week at Baralta, Mexico.
Oddsmakers also favourite Kurt Kitayama and Patrick Rodgers this week. Kitayama wasn't off to a great start to the season, and his best result was the T-37 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, Rodgers took Denny McCarthy's one-shot lead to enter Sunday's final round with the Tory Pines. However, the original Stanford standout was only able to convene a 1-under 71, finishing three strokes behind the Oberg. The Rodgers T-3 from Genesis Invitational is the best finish of the season so far and we hope to build it up in Mexico this week. It is worth noting that Rogers made 286 career stars on the PGA Tour. This is most active players who have cards. Maybe he'll finally take a break in Mexico.
Samuel Stevens, who played in college at Oklahoma State, is another player he is trying to build on his recent momentum. The 28-year-old came in second in The Farmers Insurance Open and posted a T-17 finish at Pebble Beach the following week. He hasn't missed all the cuts of 2025's six starts. This included Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines last week, finishing in 31st place with 72 rounds and 1 under 71.
Mexican Open Odds:
This is the latest The chances of the player winning Courtesy of the 2025 Mexico Open Fan Duell:
Akshay Bhatia +1400
rasmushøjgaard+1800
Kurt Kitayama +2200
Patrick Rogers +2200
Samuel Stevens +2200
Taylor Moore +2500
Michael Kim +2500
Stephan Jaeger +2500
Harry Hall +3000
Aaron Ry +3300
Ben Griffin+3300
Beau Hostsler +3500
Kevin Yu +3500
Alex Smarley +4000
Niklas Norgaard +4000
Jake Nap +4000
Nicolai Højgaard+4000
CT PAN +5000
Matt Wallace +5500
Michael Thorbjornsen +6000
Thorbjorn Olesen +5500
Ryan Fox +6000
Erik Van Rooyen +6000
Greyson Sigg +6000
Jesper Svensson +6000
Patrick Fishburn +6000
Mac Meissner +6000
Aldrich Potgieter +7000
Justin Lower +7000
Kevin Roy +7000
Play Through Picks:
Jack Mirco – Staff Writer, Golf
One player who continues to lean in the right direction is a social media star Michael KimI attended last week's Genesis Invitational via Aon Swing 5 last week. After missing a cut at Farmers Insurance Open, Kim shot four rounds in the '60s with the TPC Scottsdale and placed second in the WM Phoenix Open. He then came to 13th place with the Tory Pines last week, marking the first signing event of his career.
Kim keeps momentum and wins for his second time on Vidantaworld, a course that prioritizes distance and ball strikes. He's not the biggest hitter, but he's long enough from the tee to keep up with the best. He is also a solid long iron player who ranks in the top four for approaching the green from over 200 yards on the 2024 PGA Tour. Classic.
Fanduel Odds: Kim to win at +2500
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
