Mexico Open First-Round Leader Tips: Dave Tindall's three to back up to 66/1

Mexico Open weather forecast for Thursday

It's a very pleasant day for scoring at Vidanta Vallarta with temperatures starting in the early 70s and rising to the high 80s in the afternoon.

Winds are minimal too - 2-7mph - although most of the sunshine comes in the morning.

In short, it's hard to see any am/pm advantage on a day when plenty of birdies will be made on this Greg Norman resort course.

First Round Leader Bet 1: Kristoffer Ventura @ 40/141.00

Kristoffer Ventura should get extra support this week given that he was born in Mexico to a Mexican father before the family moved to his mother's native Norway.

Perhaps that local angle has helped give him immediate comfort and inspiration as in his two PGA Tour starts in Mexico he's opened with a 64 both times.

The first, in this event last year, secured a piece of the first-round lead while his second 64 was good enough for third after the opening lap of the 2025 World Wide Technology Championship.

We can add to that some strong recent FRL form.

Ventura's last three first-round scores read 66, 66, 67 so there's good reason to think that his big hitting can help him get off to another flyer on Thursday.

Teeing off in the last group out at 13:24 from the 10th, Ventura is worth a play at 40s (1/4 Odds, 5 Places).

First Round Leader Bet 2: Zach Bauchou @ 40/141.00

Zach Bauchou has the third lowest R1 scoring average over the last eight weeks when crunching the numbers for this week's field so looks a good candidate to hit the ground running.

The standout score during that spell was an opening 62 at the Bank of Utah Championship which secured the first-round lead.

Two starts earlier a 64 put him fourth after day one of the Wyndham Championship while he showed just what fine form he's in by taking the 54-hole lead at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan last time out.

He heads to Vidanta Vallarta on the back of four straight top 25s and I'd rather focus on his eighth place in the Korn Ferry's Tulum Championship in Mexico last year than the missed cut at this course on his only start in the event back in 2023 when he wasn't the player he is now.

Bauchou is an early starter at 07:16 from the 10th.

First Round Leader Bet 3: Chan Kim @ 66/167.00

To complete my trio, I'll go with 11:56 starter (1st), Chan Kim.

The American, who was born in South Korea, has had a ridiculous run of low openers since June.

Seemingly never having a week off, in nine starts across the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour he finished round one in the top 10 no less than seven times. Five of those were actually in the top five.

After a little dip, he was back to his usual fast-starting ways when sixth after 18 holes of last week's Bermuda Championship. He ended that event in sixth after shooting twin 64s on Thursday and Saturday.

Chan's other big appeal is that he has course form of 8-17 here, a 66 on his course debut in 2024 putting him seventh after round one.

Now read more Golf betting tips and preview here