Value Report: Mexico Open

If Austin Smotherman ripping off back-to-back wins doesn’t get your blood flowing, the fall swing just isn’t for you! It’s why I love our Discord so much, as players like Smotherman are among the most polarizing in weekly discussions despite his minimal popularity with the public. His price bump of nearly $2,000 after his first win is what left the field quite skeptical, but this time of the year it’s not just him who is entering new salary tiers, so you have to react quickly to keep up! Insanely enough, that locks up status for Smo through the 2029 Championship Series, so we’ll have many looks at one of the best iron players on Tour now competing against the strongest fields.

From a Value Report perspective, I’d call it an average, if not better, week from Bermuda. I was very impressed again by amateur Kihei Akina, as he was steady from start to finish for yet another top 20. He gets a start again this week in Mexico, and I’m very interested in going right back to the well as he earns precious PGA Tour University points. Peter Malnati would be next up, and nailing his third top 25 of the season felt like an accomplishment with how low his floor is. Ren Yonezawa kept bubbling up the board before a handful of bogeys derailed his momentum each time, but he far outscored the finishing position, so I’m definitely excited to see him get a spot again, likely at the Sony Open. Jeremy Paul’s coastal dominance didn’t factor, nor did John Vanderlaan’s form, so all in all, three usable from the five.

Now we are on to the Super Bowl of the fall swing with the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. The 2025 edition featured one of the all-time moments on Tour, with Brian Campbell forever thankful for the tree branch that gifted him his first professional victory. What I like so much, though, about this event is just how straightforward it has pointed in the direction of which players perform well here, and even with Campbell winning, there’s just absolutely every tell that letting it rip off the tee is how you get it done. So I’ll be targeting bombers up and down, narrowing in on those slipping through the cracks ownership-wise. DraftKings sadly nuked us down to the smallest prize pools of the fall yet, so hopefully strong fill rates can flip that for the rest of the year!