World Wide Technology Championship date, start time & TV info
Date Thursday, November 6 – Sunday, November 9
Course El Cardonal at Diamante, Los Cabos, Mexico
Start time By 2pm on Thursday
TV Live on Sky Sports Golf from 8pm on Thursday
Ben Griffin and JJ Spaun head the market for the World Wide Technology Championship, but neither appeal as betting propositions at skinny prices. Griffin does not appear to have much scope for improvement at the age of 29 and may have peaked this year in earning a Ryder Cup debut. He tied 32nd in the India Championship last time out.
Spaun has not competed since the Ryder Cup, so seems bound to be rusty in Mexico this week, and he has been tailed off in both his previous El Cardonal starts. Max Greyserman, fourth last year and second in the Baycurrent Classic last time out, is more difficult to resist but the 30-year-old maiden has squandered many opportunities, so may fall just short again.
Steve Palmer’s World Wide Technology Championship predictions
Michael Thorbjornsen
3pts each-way 22-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Garrick Higgo
2.5pts each-way 28-1 bet365
Pierceson Coody
2pts each-way 40-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Steve Palmer’s World Wide Technology Championship preview
Top tip
Michael Thorbjornsen 22-1
Tom McKibbin showcased his class in Hong Kong last week and the World Wide Technology Championship may provide the stage for another rising star of the sport to underline his enormous potential. Michael Thorbjornsen should threaten a PGA Tour breakthrough.
The Ohio-born slugger turned 24 in September with a glorious future ahead. He was a magnificent amateur, who finished fourth in the 2022 Travelers Championship when still in the unpaid ranks, and he has already finished runner-up twice on the PGA Tour as a professional.
Thorbjornsen was fourth in the Rocket Classic at the end of June and third in the Baycurrent Classic last month, establishing himself as one of the most impressive ball-strikers on the circuit. It seems only a matter of time before this majestic driver sheds his PGA Tour maiden tag.
El Cardonal, with wide fairways and no rough, can be overwhelmed by powerhouses like Thorbjornsen. He can reach the quartet of par-fives and the 351-yard, par-four third hole is well in range for this former Stanford ace.
The last significant title Thorbjornsen won as an amateur came in March last year in the Cabo Collegiate at Twin Dolphin Club, Los Cabos. That crucial success meant he reclaimed top spot in the PGA Tour University Ranking – a status which later earned him a PGA Tour card. Back in Los Cabos this week, he can make another significant career stride.
Next best bet
Garrick Higgo 28-1
Gutsy South African Garrick Higgo, a former prodigy in red-hot form, may provide the biggest challenge to Thorbjornsen. Higgo has been winning tournaments from an early age – twice on the Sunshine Tour, then three times on the DP World Tour, before making his PGA Tour breakthrough in the 2021 Palmetto Championship.
Some injury problems scuppered progress from there, but Higgo got back to winning ways in April this year at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic, where he beat Thorbjornsen by a shot.
Teeing up at another tropical location this week, Higgo should thrive in Los Cabos on the back of PGA Tour form figures of 7-2-4. He nearly won the Sanderson Farms Championship a month ago, denied by some late Steven Fisk heroics.
Higgo finished sixth on his El Cardonal debut 12 months ago, despite arriving as a badly out of form world number 339. This time, he is a buzzing world number 77 with the scent of a Presidents Cup debut in his nostrils.
Other selection
Pierceson Coody 40-1
Consistently excellent performances on the Korn Ferry Tour have earned Pierceson Coody a PGA Tour card for next season. The 25-year-old is tackling a Korn Ferry Tour-like venue this week – the layouts on that circuit tend to be straightforward – and a maiden PGA Tour victory would come as no surprise.
Coody has become one of the best drivers in the world and could destroy El Cardonal. He has won three times on the KFT, with one victory coming at a tropical location in the Panama Championship. He has also played well in Bermuda and the Bahamas, seemingly relishing such conditions.
The former world number one amateur lost a playoff for the ISCO Championship last year, was third in the 3M Open at the end of July, and third again in the Bank of Utah Championship last time out. He missed the cut by a shot on his El Cardonal debut last year, but had arrived in dismal form. This time, the Texan has jetted to Mexico with a spring in his step.
Read more top golf tips from Steve Palmer:
World Wide Technology Championship: El Cardonal course guide, start time, odds and how to watch
Steve Palmer’s free Abu Dhabi Championship predictions
Abu Dhabi Championship: Yas Links course guide, start time, odds and how to watch
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