- J.J. Spaun has been starting fast and is a bet at 66/1
- 66/1 Cameron Champ has a 62 to his name here
- In-form Thomas Detry is worth following at 40/1
Weather forecast for Thursday: The prediction for day one suggests temperatures in the 80s but showers could disrupt the Mexican sunshine. Wind speed can be key here but it looks fairly modest and consistent for most of the golfing day. There seems no obvious bias in terms of tee-times.
J.J. to make hay early
J.J. Spaun has a perfect record at El Camaleon, making all six cuts.
The highlight was a third place in 2018 and he's only twice finished worse than tied 28th.
He's shot four 65s in those half-dozen visits and opened with one last year to lie seventh after round one. He was fifth with a lap to go so clearly likes this short par 71 on the Mexican coast.
Spaun has been getting out of the blocks quickly this season and started out with 66s at both the Fortinet Championship and the Shriners, the first of those putting him third after Thursday's action.
And just two appearances before that, Spaun blitzed an opening 62 at the St Jude Championship to bank the first-round lead.
A 12.30 starter, take him at 66/1 to make an early surge once more.
Champ to charge
Cameron Champ has a nine-under 62 to his name at El Camaleon.
It came on his penultimate appearance in 2018 and that storming Friday score helped him bank a top-10 finish.
Also tied 33rd on his only start since, Champ is making his second visit to the country in 2022 having also contested the Mexico Open back in the Spring.
That also forged some positive memories as he sat third after 36 holes and second after 54 before finishing sixth.
Champ gained over 6.75 strokes on the greens that week and once again he'll be putting on Paspalum here so that bodes well.
The other strong pointer is that he finished eighth at the Zozo Championship on his latest start so hopefully he'll repeat the pattern of earlier this year when following a 10th at Augusta National with a strong display in Mexico next time out.
Champ, who was third after day one of the Rocket Mortgage Classic just five starts ago, is also 66/1. He tees off at 07.28.
No doubting Thomas
Thomas Detry is one of my each-way selections in the outright market and I'll play him for first-round leader too.
The Belgian is one of the Tour's form players in this quieter section of the schedule and he's fuelling his good finishes with a flood of first-round birdies.
In four starts on the PGA Tour this season, his position after 18 holes reads: 26-3-4-8.
Detry fired a 65 on day one of the Shriners and bettered that last week when setting out with a 64 in the first round of the Bermuda Championship.
His runner-up finish in Bermuda last Sunday will put him in great heart and he also has the benefit of a previous start here.
That came 12 months ago when he posted tied 22nd after a solid 67 on day one.
In this sort of freewheeling, pressure-free form, Detry is worth a FRL punt at 40s. He's another afternoon starter at 13.03.