World Wide Technology Championship DFS reads 2016: the best iron player in the game field

The PGA Tour wraps up its two weeks in Mexico this week at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos for the Technology World Championship. Fresh off Mexico’s VidantaWorld at Open Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta, the road heads west across the Gulf of California to the tip of the Baja Peninsula for the fourth straight year at El Cardonal.

Cousin: The best golf course in Mexico, number one

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Opened in 2014, El Cardonal sits on 225 acres in the desert plains above the Pacific and was the first course designed by 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods. He brought the Golden Age layout and grew up playing in Southern California, and it shows. Most holes will give you more than one way to the green, so the course wants players to pick a line and commit to it rather than simply winning.

With wide fairways, it’s more about position than penalty defense, and some of the biggest, most contoured greens he sees all year, El Cardonal runs the course and reflects the scoring. Eric van Rooyen won at -27 in 2023, Augustine Eckroat went -24 in 2024, and last year Ben Griffin closed with a 63 on Sunday to be at -29 the two brightest Sami Valimaki and Chad Ramey.

The wind is the only real defense, and since most holes run north and south, it usually blows down the middle of the fairways instead of into the faces of the players. Between the wind and the arroyos, a few shots will fail, but the winner should still land somewhere in the mid to high 20s under par.

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The seventh hole at the El Cardonal course in Diamante Cabo San Lucas, designed by Tiger Woods.

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The fifth hole at El Cardonal.

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Previous Next Pause Play false Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur, Mexico • Private Diamante Golf Club: El Cardonal

The PGA Tour debuted a new tournament venue last year, now serving as the host of the Broad Technologies Championship. El Cardonal usually plays back to another Mexican course, The Dunes, ranked 47th in Golf’s World’s 100 Greatest Courses rankings. Although El Cardonal lacks the feel of the beach setting and fertile sand that border the Dunes course holes (by Mark and Davis Love III, partnered with Paul Cowley in 2010), it has its own significant cachet as the first course built by Tiger Woods and his TGR Design studio. Opened in 2014, El Cardonal sits in a deserted area above the sister course with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and holes that run mainly south-south, meaning the prevailing coastal winds typically pass through. Early in Woods’ complete architectural career, El Cardonal struck the chords that the 15-time major champion went on to use in the subsequent Texas Bluejack National design and Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri (Beau Welling was Woods’ lead designer for all three projects).

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Ben Griffin returns to El Cardonal fresh off a T-4 Vidanta and looking to defend the title he won by two shots. One of just two players in the field ranked inside the top 30 in the world, with Ryan Gerard at No. 23. Then, the list of the top 60 players runs only five high once adding Marco Penge, Keith Mitchell and Jackson Koivun.

Here are my favorite plays and odds in each price range for the DraftKings contests for the 2026 World Wide Technology Championship. $9,000+ range Play: Ben James, $9,900

Orlando Ramirez

James is the strongest player in this field, and he seems to be the best player for the best price. Three of his past four starts have made the runner-up finish in September, a tie for fifth at the Bank of Utah tournament and a tie for 16th at the Mexico Open on Sunday, where he closed rounds of 68 and 65. Over the past three months, he has achieved 1.97 strokes per round, mostly in the field, driving and lifting heavy irons. That’s the thing on the 60-yard fairways and no roughs, where long, straight drivers would be attacked by short irons all day.

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El Cardonal has never played, but the two courses are very similar. He went 16th at Vidanta, and fifth at Black Desert, taking two more strokes throughout the round. At this time he leads the easy scorpum into the orbs, 34 And in the dry the light is the best field. He also places third in the field in birdie or better rate, which is a state track winner here more than any other. Birdie-making, comfort on the course and no weakness off the tee make him the most easily trusted player at the top of the table.

Fade: Keith Mitchell, $9,600

I understand the appeal. Mitchell is one of the longest and best drivers in this field, and his runner-up finish at the Bayrunning Classic last month showed that the ceiling is still there. It’s worth the price. DraftKings has him $1,900 above his average salary over five starts. Baycurrent’s only finish is better than 34 in those five.

Mexico never suited him. In 10 starts across El Camaleon, Vidanta and El Cardonal he has one top 20, and in El Cardonal he lost a shot on the field, finishing 38th, missing the cut and finishing 63rd. The greens are the issue, as he puts in three flights around the bottom of this field and is well below the middle wearing paspal and Bermuda, while he plays on weak fields and sits in the middle of the bad ones. At this price, I’d rather have Kris Ventura, who just finished second in Mexico for $9,000.

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Read Keith Stewart and Pat Mayo’s line on the keys to the 2026 World Wide Web.

Watch the full 2026 World Wide Technology Championship show here.

$8,000+ range Play: Ben Kohles, $8,500

David Jensen

Kohles is playing the best course of his career. He has scored 29 or better in 11 straight starts at the RBC Canadian Open in June, a run that includes a tie for third at the John Deere Classic and a ninth-place finish at the 3M Open, and has earned a field goal in each event.

El Cardonal puts it like a second ball course, and Kohles is the best iron player in this field, ranking first in shots in approach over the year and fifth in close range from 175 yards and beyond. He is also one of the best players on the field on a soft course, and in a layout where tee shots and approaches are the easiest to play.

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Fade: Pierceson Coody, $8,600

I know his sixth-place finish at the Mexican Open is fresh on everyone’s mind, and on paper Coody has the rewards of a length and par-5 this course. But one good week doesn’t erase the rest of the fall. Before Mexico, he finished 57th in the Biltmore Championship, missed the cut at the Bank of Utah Championship, and finished 5th in the Baycurrent Classic, and in the last six months he has finished less than a tenth of a round. DraftKings has rated him $1,400 above his average salary over the past five drafts, so we’re paying a peg, not a trend.

His record at El Cardonal is so poor, with a cut and a 31st place finish, and the short game is a real concern on these greens, where he places around the bottom of this field around the green and below average putting. I’d rather save $300 and play Jordan Smith, who is far more consistent and just finished 16th in Mexico.

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Sean M. Haffey

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Today is quietly turning the season around summer. He finished 15th at the Rocket Classic and 25th at the Wyndham Championship, then added a tie for 10th at the Bank of Utah Championship, and over the last three months he’s had nearly a stroke every round on the field.

Hoey has played here twice, improving from 45 in 2024 to 21 last year, and his game has been built for him. In this crop I’m shooting 5s and at distances from 175 yards and beyond, and for two years it’s been one of the better chance and weak field players. He has also achieved the closest round of El Cardonal shortstops and has the best overall projection in this category.

$6,000+ range Play: Ben Silverman, $6,700

Orlando Ramirez

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Silverman is playing his best course of the year. He completed his third Championship in Bermuda and followed it up with a tie for 19th at the Mexico Open last week. In addition to 36 rounds, he gets hits in all areas, at a rate of 0.30 per round.

He also did well here last year, finishing 21st while gaining a good stroke per round. Last year, he ranks among the best in this field in bogey flight and long par 4s, and he’s been steady on the course for heavier drivers like El Cardonal.

Sign up for the industry’s leading tool for making it easy for the public, head to BetspertsGolf.com now and get access to The Rabbit Hole for just $10 for your first month. Use promo code GD10 at sign up for this amazing deal!

Ron Klos (@PGASplits101 on X) is a PGA Tour data analyst for Betsperts Golf.

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