The Course Report
Vidanta Vallarta
About Vidanta Vallarta
A few things you’re just going to have to accept this week. The first being that everyone is going to be discussing how long this course is, and the second is how slow this course will play thanks to the Paspalum grass that is found throughout the track.
Modifications have been made to this course to make it more difficult for Tour Players. They have redesigned over 50 bunkers, lengthen the course on 9 holes, and converted two fo the par-5’s into very long par-4’s.
Don’t be fooled. This is a course tailored towards guests who are 10-15 handicaps. As much as the PGA Tour wants to make this course challenging, there is a tremendous amount of doubt that it comes to fruition.
Already the common build theme is to look at bombers. This makes sense being that the course is nearly 7,500 yards. To get different this week, it could be beneficial to look at morning/afternoon waves or even focusing on players who have struggled recently. While distance always helps, I believe this course to be too easy just to eliminate anyone who is average in length off the tee.
The fairways at Vidanta are very generous. Much of the images I’ve seen, in terms of the width, reminds me so much of TPC Craig Ranch.
2021 AT&T Byron Nelson winner was K.H. Lee. Who essentially dominated by dialing in his approach shots. Lee gained nearly 9 strokes on approach. Yet, the one thing I want to point out specifically from this tournament is that approach outweighed distance by a massive margin.
Looking at last year’s top-10, only 3 players rank inside the top-10 in driving distance this year, and several of them are outside the top-100. Keep this in mind before you jump on that distance bandwagon that everyone seems to keep hinting at.
The real force that could cause scoring to suffer is the weather. As of right now, the forecast does not seem foreboding.
Another narrative is the fact that golfers will be playing on the velcro like Paspalum grass throughout the entire 18 holes. Tread with caution as there is limited data for many of these players in the field, and their success on this surface.
Last year, the course ranked 18th on Tour in terms of difficulty. Which, in reality, isn’t saying a whole lot. Smaller greens do lend themselves to create some difficulty on approach, but it isn’t something to be overly concerned about. Make sure you are grabbing longer hitters.
I really wish I had more to add here, but this is a new tournament and the first time we see this course graced with the talents of PGA Pro’s. I’m anticipating massive scoring, and while the wind can wreak havoc, even then it’ll be minimal in its affect.
Architect: Greg Norman
Greens: Paspalum Grass
Length: 7,456 Yards-Par 71
Water Hazards: 11 Holes
Bunkers: 54
Nuggets and Tidbits
-Only one year of data limits validity on metrics and numers that plenty will turn to for Vindanta Vallarta
-Speaking of those metrics, the easiest hole on the course last year was the driveable 7 hole, which is a 297 yard par-4. The following four easiest after that were all the par-5’s.
-The most difficult holes were the 10th, 16th and the 8th. All of them are par-4’s that are 475 yards or longer in length. All 4 par-3’s played over par in 2022.
-Of the the top-15 players in SG:OTT, nearly 1/2 of them finished in the top-10. Only 2 of these players finished outside the top-35.
-Of the top-15 in approach, five of these players finished in the top-10 while 4 finished outside the top-35.
-Around the green game did not seem like a very key factor for success this weekend. You’re either dialed in on OTT or you’re just not going to compete at the top of the leaderboard.
-Holes 6 and 7 allow players to score back-to-back eagles for the longer hitters.
-If you roster a player that doesn’t hit it long and they’re missing fairways, you’re already looking at a missed cut for that player.
Weather Forecast
Approach Shot Distribution
Past Winners
Just when everyone tought he was simply couldn’t win, Rahm came out and just crushed Mexico.
Everything seemed off this year due to the global pandemic due to Covid-19. This is where course knowledge came at a premium, and Webb took advantage.
The leaderboard was packed on Sunday, but in the end, Simpson finished 22-under-par to beat the charging Daniel Berger, Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka.
This RBC Heritage event was still be shadowed by Tiger’s win the previous week at Augusta National. Still, Pan shot a wild Sunday round to pocket his first PGA Tour win of his career.
It wasn’t the most exciting Sunday in RBC histroy, but Pan played solid golf from opening round to finish. The most shocking number from the event was Dustin Johnson’s final round 77.
Kodaira and Si Woo Kim went to a playoff in what was an epic round for the Japanese golfer.
Trailing by 5 shots, Kodaira shot a five=under 66 to finish 12 under for the tournament. Kodaira and Kim tied the first two playoff holes before a birdie sealed the win for Kodaira. This was not only Kodaira’s first win on PGA Tour, but also his first time finishing in the top-10.
Another player on tour accomplishing his first win on PGA Tour at Harbour Town. WEsley Bryan for 4 shot back at the start of his final round.
With four consecutive biridies on the front 9, he found 2 more on the back and thus launching him to the top of the leaderboard. Luke Donald finished in 2nd, with his 7th top 3 finsih in his last nine starts at the RBC Heritage.
Grace came into this event after missing the cut the week prior at the Master’s. Yet, after sturggling at Augusta, he rebounded nicely and won his first ever PGA Tour event.
Saturday was nasty to the field. This kept Grace in contention. He would then shoot a 5-under 66 on Sunday, and land the top spot just ahead of Luke Donald.
This was Furyk’s return to the top, after his dominant 2010 where he won three times on tour.
Kisner almost had the win himself. He steamrolled the back 9 and forced a playoff with Furyk. Yet, Furyk’s grinding is what got him through as he eventually birdied 12-footer to win the playoff.
Kuchar went nuts on a rare scoring Sunday at Harbour Town, and erased a 4-shot deficit to start the round.
Kuchar birdied six holes on the front 9, and then biridied again on hole 10. He slowed down a bit, and then ran into massive trouble on 17 and 18. Needing to go up and down to force a playoff with Luke Donald, Kuchar did one better. He holed out from the greeside bunker for a birdie to seal the win.
McDowell went to a playoff with Webb Simpson, and ended up winning after the two replayed the 18th.
McDowell’s last win was the 2010 U.S. Open, and it was truly a test. Wind gusts on Sunday were near 50 mph at times, and it almost felt as if the difficulty of the course was eating the field alive. McDowell finished with an even par on Sunday.