2023 Mexico Open: Predictions, expert picks, odds, field rankings, golf best bets at Vidanta Vallarta

The world No. 1 headlines the PGA Tour's second trip south of the border this season

A condensed playing schedule for the game's elites have forced an eclectic group to gather at the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta. In what will only be the second playing of this tournament, world No. 1 and reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm seeks to defend his title. Arriving at this tournament a season ago in the midst of a middling stretch of play, the Spaniard used the wide-open nature of not only the golf course, but the field, to propel his play to new heights.

Claiming seven victories in his last 24 worldwide starts, Rahm is beginning to separate himself from the rest of the golfing world. He will go for his eighth win in a calendar year but needs to successfully fend off a number of players who gave him fits a season ago. Tony Finau checks in as the second-highest ranked player in this field at world No. 16.

Carding the course record in the final round in 2022, Finau nearly caught Rahm but ultimately came up one stroke short. While he did not enter the winner's circle, Finau and his play in Mexico proved to be a turning point in not just his season but his career as a whole as he would win a couple tournaments later that summer.