WWT Championship: Ludwig Aberg primed to crown stellar year with maiden USPGA Tour win

A par 72 and 7,452 yards in length, El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos is a coastal course in a desert environment, adorned with generous fairways and large greens. 

In such dry terrain, it is hard to miss the fairway visibly, but anyone missing it off the tee will find their ball in a sandy wasteland littered with cacti and scrubby desert flora. 

Lucas Aberg will tee off as the 9/1 favourite this week, and the Swedish sensation currently leads the tour on strokes gained off the tee.

A top driver who hits the ball a long way, his game should suit this course and he is by far the best golfer in the field going into the tournament.

That doesn’t also guarantee victory, but Aberg has the added incentive of needing results in the next few tournaments to gain access to the early 2024 signature Tour events.

Next in the betting market is Cam Young at 12/1 - not the most appealing odds for a golfer who has fallen short of his best form for a long while now.

As a recent easy winner on the Tour, the in-form Sahith Theegala looks more appetising at 14/1, and it will be interesting to see if he can now step forward and push on into the world's top thirty.

Although not a long hitter, Emiliano Grillo could well go well on this course, as his accuracy and second-shot quality should put him in good stead if he is on his game.

His 25/1 price tag seems fair, as does the 28/1 for Adam Svensson, who often looks well-placed before flattering to deceive come Sunday, but this could be his breakout week for him to enjoy at least a frame finish.

Another in-form recent winner, Akshay Bhatia looks tempting at 33/1 after landing his maiden win on tour, and now taking on a weak-field event.

Big-hitting Englishman Callum Tarren should be able to launch his drives out there on this course, and if the rest of his game is in order, he can contend on this course and make a mockery of his 60/1 odds. 

Also lurking under the radar is Brandon Wu who tends to save his best form for coastal courses, plus he has four top seven finishes on paspalum grass. Wu likes to strut his stuff on low-scoring courses and has previously been a runner-up in Mexico and at Pebble Beach, so this course sets up well for him as a 66/1 shot

Matti Schmid came over to Europe recently and looked set to win the Andalucia Masters, only to mess up on the final hole and allow Adrian Meronk to nip past him to win by one stroke.

For a player whose game is clearly in good nick, his current 95/1 price looks very big in this field, and the German has a  big opportunity to defy those odds this week.