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WGC-Mexico Championship: Best bets for this week's PGA Tour action

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World Golf Championships bring out the game's biggest names, and fittingly, 38 of the top 40 players will be in action at the Mexico Championship.

Club de Golf Chapultepec hosts a 72-man field competing for the $1.745-million first-place prize. The course is listed at 7,345 yards but will play shorter due to an elevation nearly 8,000 feet above sea level.

Most golfers will hit less than driver off the tee, placing an emphasis on elite iron and wedge play. The fairways are narrower than they are at the average PGA Tour event, so anyone who starts spraying it off the tee is in for a long week.

Here are the event's best bets.

Outright winners

Rory McIlroy (11-1)

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Rory McIlroy is off to a hot start in 2019, finishing in the top five in all three events he's played. The crazy thing is that he's churning out impressive results even though he hasn't put it together for an entire tournament yet. He should have no problem overpowering Chapultepec, and if he can fine-tune his wedge play, a runaway victory is well within the range of outcomes.

Sergio Garcia (45-1)

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Don't be afraid to go back to the well with Sergio Garcia, who had a sneaky-good week at the Genesis Open despite finishing outside the top 30. The Spaniard gained 5.4 strokes with approach shots last week, good for sixth in the field. He's also one of seven golfers who placed inside the top 15 both times the Tour visited Chapultepec.

Tyrrell Hatton (70-1)

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There's something about playing in Mexico that Tyrrell Hatton loves. The Englishman finished 10th in his first appearance, followed by a tied-for-third result last year. He's not in fantastic form, but perhaps some positive vibes from a course where he's experienced success before will help him turn things around. Hatton is beyond worthy of a 70-1 flier in a limited-field, no-cut event.

Top five

Danny Willett (18-1)

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The 2016 Masters champion turned in some encouraging recent results after entering a slump following his big win at Augusta. Danny Willett won the European Tour's season finale late last year and made back-to-back cuts on the PGA Tour leading up to Mexico. In an event that resembles tournament play on the European circuit, Willett could very well crack the top five.

Alexander Bjork (33-1)

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Relatively unknown to American golf fans, Alexander Bjork's built a solid resume across the pond. The Swede won last year in China and has made both cuts on the European Tour in 2019. He led the European Tour in strokes gained: approach last year, a nice asset for this week. He's a long shot to win the event, but 33-1 for a top five is a strong play.

Tournament matchups

Tommy Fleetwood (-120) over Bubba Watson

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Picking on Bubba Watson is the key to this matchup: Chapultepec just doesn't suit his game. As Tiger Woods mentioned, the ball doesn't move side-to-side nearly as much at Mexico City's elevation compared to other Tour stops, and that's essentially all Bubba does. Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood's a perfect fit for this course and was the runner-up in 2017.

Ian Poulter (+110) over Rafa Cabrera Bello

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Ian Poulter is playing extremely well to begin 2019, with three straight top-six finishes in strong fields in the Middle East. Rafa Cabrera Bello's been solid as well, but seeing Poulter at anything more than even money makes this bet worth it.

(Odds courtesy: bet365)

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