The first 2020 golf world championship, the WGC Mexico Championship, kicks off in Mexico on Thursday, part of a mini-circuit of four competitions common to the various tours. It is a prestigious appointment, full of money and points for the ranking. The prize pool is $10,5, among the highest ever. At the starting blocks is Francesco Molinari, who this year has not yet managed to take flight, indeed he has even missed three cuts in a row.
Luckily in this match it won't happen: the players are a selection of the best in the world, 72 to be exact and there will be many from the beginning to the end, without any skimming after the first 36 holes. This will give Francesco time to get over his nervousness and uncertainties and to rediscover his splendid game. The Turinese will try, as always, to give his best and to climb a few steps in the world order of merit, where he slipped to 25th place.
The challenge is difficult and important, because the field is at the highest level. It is played in Mexico City, at an altitude of 2000 meters and the balls will fly like in few other fields. We have already seen it in other editions and it is no coincidence that the reigning champion is a hitter of the caliber of Dustin Johnson, who has won two of the three tournaments played on the course of the Club de Golf Chapultepec, even if he no longer lifts a 12 months and in the meantime he underwent surgery on his knee.
Among the favorites is the world number one, Northern Irish Rory McIlroy, who recently ousted Brooks Koepka at the top of the rankings and now wants to equal Nick Faldo's personal best: 97 weeks at the top of the list. This is the third longest period ever, after Tiger Woods' 683 weeks and Greg Norman's 331 weeks.
Rory is also very long and if precision helps him he will be able to show wonders. Koepka doesn't play, but there are heavyweights like Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Xander Schauffele, all in the world top ten. To keep an eye on is the Australian Adam Scott, who scored last Sunday, together with Matt Kuchar, second in Genesis, and then Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth.
On the other hand, Tiger will be missed who, at 44, doses his appearances even more sparingly than before. On the other hand, this is the moment in which all the big names choose their strategy for approaching the first major of the year, the most fascinating, the Augusta Masters scheduled from 9 to 12 April.
