Todd wins at Mayakoba for back-to-back W’s

By
Mo Yoshimoto,

By
Mo Yoshimoto

Published November 19, 2019 02:18 PM

Mayakoba Golf Classic

El Camaleon Golf Club

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Winner’s Share: $1,296,000

This was the 10^th event of the season (of 49) and due to a washout on Thursday, the second that went to an unscheduled Monday finish, joining the ZOZO Championship in Japan, won by Tiger Woods.

For a guy who’s only made the cut an updated 47.7 percent of the time in his PGA TOUR career (85 made cuts vs. 93 missed cuts) – at one point MC’ing 35 in 37 starts – and missed his first four cuts of this season, Brendon Todd has sure resurrected his career in remarkable fashion, BIG TIME.

After going 5 years, 6 months and 100 starts in between win Nos. 1 and 2, he’s now won in back-to-back starts. Amazing.

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Playing out of the final threesome, the 54-hole leader (by one) and World No. 184 authored a 3-under-par 33-35=68 in the two-day final round for a 72-hole tally of 20-under 264, good for a one-shot victory over runners-up Carlos Ortiz (66), Adam Long (66), and playing competitor Vaughn Taylor (68).

The 34-year-old bags his third TOUR title in 178 events, second in a row after coming from two back with a career-low 9-under 62 to win the opposite-field Bermuda Championship (by four) two weeks ago in his, and the TOUR’s most recent event, following a rare one-week break in the fall schedule.

Apparently, that brief sabbatical was all he needed and didn’t interrupt his flow whatsoever, becoming the season’s first multiple winner. Interestingly enough, Todd has finished on the podium just three times in his TOUR career, a pedestrian 1.6 percent clip, but they’re ALL WINS.

Final Leaderboard (DraftKings pre-tourney odds outright):

1- (-20) Brendon Todd (110/1)

2- (-19) Carlos Ortiz (55/1)

2- (-19) Adam Long (175/1)

2- (-19) Vaughn Taylor (90/1)

5- (-17) Harris English (40/1)

Note: Consecutive top-10 finishers in the event: Pat Perez (8-6)

Note: No ShotLink, so no Strokes Gained stats. If there were, Todd would’ve posted a 16.127 SG: Total.

Todd’s Position by Round:

R1: T2 (1 back)

R2: 3 (2 back)

R3: 1 (by 1)

Leader/co-leaders by Round:

R1: Danny Lee (finished: T26): Drops to 0-for-5 as 18-hole leader/co-leader

R2: Harris English (5^th): Drops to 2-for-4 as 36-hole leader/co-leader

R3: Brendon Todd (Won): Improves to 2-for-2 as 54-hole leader/co-leader

After claiming the inaugural Bermuda in 24-under-par, the Pittsburgh native is a cumulative 44-under in his last eight laps, including a pair of 63s and a 62.

Prior to the Bermuda, Todd had closed out the Houston Open with an 8-birdie 2-bogey 66, up 34 places to T28, and then sat for two weeks.

He didn’t qualify for any of the Asia Swing events, including THE CJ CUP (Korea) and ZOZO, and then played the Bermuda opposite the WGC-HSBC in China.

Unlike the Bermuda, however, this win comes with a full complement of FedExCup points (500 vs. 300), an increased winner’s share ($1,296,000 vs. $540,000), tacks on another season of fully exempt status (thru 2022-23), and earns a Masters invite, where he’ll make his second appearance, first since a MC five seasons ago (2015).

The Atlanta resident is the first player to win back-to-back events since Bryson DeChambeau in 2018 (NORTHERN TRUST, Dell Tech Champ), a span of 57 events in between, and has stayed committed to this coming week’s RSM Classic, where he finished T54 last season on 8-under 274 (68-69-69-68) as an open-qualifier.

In his last two events, both won as pre-tourney 110/1 outrights, Todd has vaulted from 154^th in the FEC standings to No. 1, and from No. 525 in the Official World Golf Ranking to 83^rd. DraftKings Sportsbook currently shows him at 35/1 outright for the RSM.

How Todd Won the Tournament:

Ranked 1^st (or T1) in: Total Birdies; Par-4 Scoring

Ranked 2^nd (or T2) in: Birdie to Bogey Ratio; Par-3 Scoring

Note: See “Leaders in Selected Stats” at the bottom, along with his full stats.

Lowest-Ranked Stat(s): Par-5 Scoring (T46)

Todd at Mayakoba:

Starts: 4

Top 25s: 1

Top 10s: 1

Wins: 1

Form: 1-MC-49-MC

Todd’s Season:

Starts: 7

Cuts Made: 3

Top 25s: 2

Top 10s: 2

Top 5s: 2

Wins: 2

Season Form: 1-1-28-MC-MC-MC-MC

Todd’s TOUR Career:

Starts: 178

Cuts Made: 85 (47.7%)

Top 25s: 40 (22.4%)

Top 10s: 14 (7.8%)

Top 3s: 3 (1.6%)

Wins: 3 (1.6%)

Wins by Season:

2020: 2

2019: --

2018: --

2017: --

2016: --

2015: --

2014: 1 (HP Byron Nelson)

2013: --

2012: --

2011: -- (Nationwide, now Korn Ferry Tour)

2010: -- (Nationwide, now Korn Ferry Tour)

2009: -- (rookie season)

Last season, Todd finished 183^rd in the FEC standings with a resurgent four top 25s in 11 starts on Past Champion status.

In the KFT Finals, he opened with a T2, followed with T20 and T67, for 15^th in the Priority Rankings and a return to the main stage.

Todd on Sunday/Monday:

After kicking off with bogey-free 63, 68-65, Todd led by one over two players and was T1 (with Taylor) thru 14 holes on Sunday when play was suspended.

He returned on Monday morning (with 11 others) to finish birdie-bogey-par-par to hoist the trophy.

Todd’s 20-footer for birdie on the par-3 15^th, answered a bogey-5 on his last hole on Sunday, and set the tone on the re-start.

Now one clear, he didn’t lose the lead again.

In all, Todd found 10 (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, posting 1.615 putts per GIR with 28 total putts.

OUT: 3-under 33 (3 birdies, NO bogeys); leads by two (over Taylor)

IN: even-par 35 (2 birdies, 2 bogeys); WINS by one

For the week, he totaled 24 birdies, T1 in that stat, against four bogeys.

By the Numbers:

0: Number of shots hit on Thursday as rain and storms prevented the first round from getting underway. Since Monday, course has received 8.5 inches of rain.

2013: The last time a first round on TOUR was suspended without any play: 2013 Sentry TOC.

32: Due to Thursday’s washout, Todd played 32 holes on Sunday before play was suspended (darkness), which he did in 9-under.

11/8: Todd’s revised outright betting entering R4.

2: This is Todd’s second win outside of the USA, second straight (Bermuda)

4: Todd is the fourth straight EARLY/late winner of the Mayakoba.

3: All three of Todd’s win have been EARLY/late.

2: Through 10 (non-team) events this season, the pre-tourney fave/co-fave has won two times: Rory McIlroy (6/1) at WGC-HSBC, and Justin Thomas (13/2) at THE CJ CUP. Last season, two fave/co-faves won (in 45 non-team events): Rory McIlroy (12/1 co-fave) at THE PLAYERS, and Collin Morikawa at the Barracuda (10/1).

20/1: There were four pre-tourney co-faves outright at 20/1: Tony Finau (MC); Billy Horschel (T8); Viktor Hovland (MC); Matt Kuchar (T14)

7: Of seven Mexico flags in the field, the best finisher was Carlos Ortiz’ T2 (69-65-65-66). That’s a career best in 96 events and second top-3 finish, joining a T3 at last season’s Sanderson Farms.

T8: The next-best Mexican-finisher was Abraham Ancer with T8 on 14-under 270 (66-72-65-67). He played his final 41 holes bogey-free.

T9: The previous-best finishes by Mexican’s in the event were T9s by: Ancer (2018), Oscar Frausto and Ortiz, the latter two in 2015.

T14: Making his season debut, defender Matt Kuchar closed with a day-low and week-tying-low 62 for a back-door T14 on 12-under 272 (69-68-73-62), eight adrift.

1: Adam Long’s T2 was his first runner-up in 34 career events and second top 3, joining his win at last season’s Desert Classic.

27: Of 27 first-timers at El Camaleon, Long was top debutant.

4: Vaughn Taylor’s T2 was his fourth runner-up in 392 events, first since P2 at the 2010 Houston Open, and his 10^th top-3 finish, first since his come-from-behind win at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach.

T18: 16 (of 21) TOUR rookies teed it up and low-rookie honors went to Scottie Scheffler with a T18 on 11-under 273 (66-69-70-68).