(Photo credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images)

The PGA Tour dips south for this week's Mexico Open, which tees off Thursday at the Vidanta Vallarta Course in Vallarta, Mexico.

As one of six national opens that offer FedExCup points in addition to being the first of two Aon Swing 5 events for entry into the next signature tournament, Mexico has drawn a wide array of players seeking to pick up critical positioning before the tour's Florida Swing begins next week.

Field Level Media's golf experts preview the event while sharing their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.

MEXICO OPEN AT VIDANTAWORLD

Location: Vallarta, Mexico, Feb. 20-23

Course: Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course (Par 71, 7,436 Yards)

Purse: $7M (Winner: $1.26M)

Defending Champion: Jake Knapp

FedEx Cup leader: Ludvig Aberg

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @MexicoOpenGolf

PROP PICKS

--Erik van Rooyen Made Cut (-230 at DraftKings): The South African has missed three of his past four cuts, but those all came against stronger fields in the U.S. Van Rooyen often cleans up on lower-tier tournaments; he made the cut in all three of his FedEx Fall starts during a string of making the weekend in seven consecutive events worldwide. He tied for eighth here last year before going on to a T2 at the Cognizant Classic. We're bucking the public on this one, as van Rooyen has been the fifth-most popular player at the book to miss the cut.

--Michael Kim Top 20 Finish (+163 at BetRivers): We love these odds for Kim, who followed up his T2 at the Phoenix Open with a T13 against the loaded Genesis field last week. He's a career-best 80th in the world rankings, and also posted top-20s in three of his final four FedEx Fall events.

--Patrick Fishburn to Beat Jesper Svensson (-125 at DraftKings): Both enter this week seeking to turn around their recent form. Since a T10 at the Sony Open, Svensson missed a pair of cuts before a T63 at the Phoenix Open. Fishburn looked ready to build on his strong close to 2024 when he opened the year with a T7 in Honolulu, only to miss his past three cuts. Fishburn got on a roll of four top-15s over a five-event stretch late last summer and finished the fall with a T8 at The RSM Classic, so we're banking on him being competitive against a softer field than he has faced of late.

2025 Prop Pick Record: 6-10-1

BEST BETS

--Akshay Bhatia (+1400 at DraftKings) is coming off a T9 at the Genesis and has not missed a cut in four events this year. He leads the field with 16 percent of all money wagered on this week's winner backing Bhatia.

--Rasmus Hojgaard (+1800) is coming off his first missed cut since October following four consecutive finishes of T22 or better worldwide.

--Kurt Kitayama (+2200) is a four-time winner who has fared well recently against softer fields, including a fifth at the Zozo and a T9 at the Shriners over the fall. Katayama's odds have shifted slightly since opening at +2000.

--Patrick Rodgers (+2200), who held the 54-hole lead at the Genesis, is the only player to finish in the top 10 in each of the first three editions of the Mexico Open.

--Stephan Jaeger (+2500) may not be a household name to the casual fan, but the public is backing him with 5 percent of the money and 4 percent of the bets to win. Since at T3 in Honolulu, Jaeger hasn't finished better than T40 in his past three starts.

--Jake Knapp (+4000) is already making his seventh start of the season and is playing for the sixth consecutive week. He finished T17 at the Genesis, and Knapp has drawn the most total bets with 9 percent. He's also second to Bhatia with 12 percent of the money backing Knapp to win.

NOTES

--The first seven weeks of the 2025 PGA Tour season have produced winners from seven different countries.

--This is the first event in which players can earn FedEx Cup points toward the Aon Swing 5 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The top five players following this week and the Cognizant Classic who are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into the fourth signature event of the year. This week's winner will also earn spots in the five remaining signature events of 2025.

--Vidanta Vallarta was designed by former LIV Golf CEO and current board member Greg Norman. Tony Finau holds the tournament scoring record of 260 set in 2023, while Jon Rahm set the 18-hole record of 61 in the third round the same year.

--Blades Brown, 17, will make his second start of the season.

--San Diego State senior Justin Hastings, a native of the Cayman Islands, will make his second career PGA Tour start. He previously missed the cut at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open.

--There are five players from Mexico in the field: Alvaro Ortiz, Santiago de la Fuente, Jose Cristobal Islas, Gerardo Gomez, Jose Antonio Safa.

--Field Level Media