The Course Report
El Camaleon GC
About El Camaleon GC
It’s not Yourakoba. It’s not Ourakoba. This is the Mayakoba Classic at the beautiful El Camaleon Golf Club in the majestic Play del Carmen, Mexico.
The course has been a part of the tournament rotaion since 2007, and since then players have seen a vast number of changes that have made the course PGA relevant. The most recent changes include an additional 30 yards, creating a course length at 7,017 yards and plays at a par 71.
At first glance the course seems to be tailored to bombers and big hitters. Yet, the key stat here is fairway accuracy. There are just too many hazards out there to create plenty of high numbers on any players scorecard.
The course meanders through the jungle, which in truth, is pretty bad ass. Weather rarely becomes a factor here as the pins are simply hidden from any detrimental factors. Recently, we have seen that this basically turns into “how hot is your wedge?” After that we look for hot putters and go from there. Recent winners have all correlated as strong players with the wedge or around the green.
As fun as this course appears, the one wrinkle that comes into play is the fact that the putting surface is paspalum turf that runs very slow. We have seen stimp meters as low as 10 here, indicating that even the strongest of putts aren’t going very far past the cup.
Paspalum is typically a grainy surface, and for most pro’s, inexpeirence on this style of green could be extremely detrimental during four straight rounds. So be mindful of who you’re rostering in DFS and backing at the sportsbook.
The biggest nugget I can find here is that ball placement and accuracy off the tee is essential for success. If you’re even a bit off target, you’re just not going to be scoring enough to even make the cut.
The weather forecast is going to be key. Coastal winds can be chaotic, but often times they come in short bursts for only a few hours. This could be a potential weather advantage in any showdowns or matchups that you might be bettering, so be sure to check out the weather widget below.
The course is a second shot darling, so once again we are looking at track’s similar to Harbour Town. We are going to be seeing a lot of birdies this weekend, and looking at distance really seems just too far of a reach considering the players that have succeeded here.
Another little nugget here. Nearly 70%of the top finishers here have been above average in PGA Tour distance. Look for those accurate approach players. Also, to add a little bit of LIV to your life, Pat Perez always loved playing here. I also find it somewhat discomforting for the PGA Tour that they are playing a Greg Norman course. Just saying.
Architect: Greg Norman
Greens: Paspalam
Green Size: 7,100 sq. feet – Large
Stimpmeter: 10 to 11.5 – Slow
Length: 7,017 – Par 71
Water Hazards: 10 come into play
Bunkers: 50+, with large bunker complex’s
Weather Forecast
Past Winners
Broke his driver and it didn’t even matter.
Hovland went with a back-to-back championship, and had a record score of 23 under as he captured his 3rd win on the PGA Tour.
Hovland earned his second career victory with a score of -20.
Going into the 72nd hole, Hovland made a massive birdie putt to seal the victory. THe coruse played very soft throughout the week, leading to lower scores for those players that were dialed in.
Remember when Todd had the yips? No longer. After those full swing struggles Todd came back to the top the of the PGA Tour.
Todd finished one stroke aghead of Carlos Ortiz, Adam Long and Vaughn Taylor after the rain washed out the first round forcing the players to finish on Monday.
Kuchar earned his 8th PGA TOur win of his career, and his first since 2014. Kuchar started the final round with a four shot lead, and nearly lost the lead after back-to-back three putts, but rebounded on the final hole to edge out Danny Lee.
Players were dialed in on approach, but it was Kuchar who put it together for all four rounds.
No one came close to catching Kizzire as he dominated the final 7 holes of the tournament.
The rain drenched the course, and we had the rare 36 hole Sunday. Fowler was the only player closest to catching Kizzire, but ultimately couldn’t come close.
It took a 3-man playoff, but Johnson beat Louis Ossthuizen and Marc Leishman by shooting a 15, 1 under in a four hole playoff.
Johnson was a surprise win as just the week before his prep came in Illinois at the John Deere Classic. This was Johnson’s second major win, and his first Claret Jug.
Entering with a six-stroke lead over the field, McIIroy went from dominant to just hanging on. Still, no golfer ever got withing two strokes the entire day, and he held his composure despite struggles off the tee and on the greens.
In winning, McIIroy became the seventh wire-to-wire winner in Open Championship history.
After winning the Scottish Open the week prior, Mickelson birdied four of the last six holes and became the Open Champion.
To this point, Phil had come close to winning, but had often doubted his abilites on links style courses.
Els began Sunday 6 shots back, but still clinched the vicotry after Adam Scott imploded.
Els’ 68 was a comeback of epic proportions when you consider the fact that Scott was still winning by 4 strokes on the 15th tee.