American Express – Brendon Todd trying to rekindle Mayakoba magic

Simply because the climate forecast in paradise — and Cancun definitely suits into that class — isn’t precisely ultimate for vacationers this week, don’t count on Brendon Todd to lament the dearth of sunshine.

For many who may need forgotten, the circumstances had been eerily related final yr when Todd earned his third profession victory by profitable the Mayakoba Golf Basic — firing 4 rounds within the 60s at El Camaleon Golf Membership for a 20-under whole of 264 and a one-stroke victory over Vaughn Taylor, Carlos Ortiz and Adam Lengthy.

“Looks like it’s going to be in the same conditions; it’s already wet and we’re expecting more rain on Thursday, Friday, so it should feel pretty similar to how it played last year,” Todd stated. “I played the back nine this morning and my game felt pretty good, made some birdies, so looking forward to carrying momentum this week.”

Talking of comparable emotions, Todd will surely love to copy the way in which he felt when he left Cancun final yr. After considering retirement lower than a yr earlier, Todd’s victory within the Mayakoba was his second PGA Tour win in 15 days, following an equally spectacular efficiency on the Bermuda Championship. Not unhealthy, contemplating he’d entered final November with only one win in additional than a decade of toiling on Tour.

With that victory, he turned the primary participant to seize consecutive Tour occasions since Bryson DeChambeau, who was victorious within the first two occasions of the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs at The Northern Belief and Dell Applied sciences Championship.

“It definitely grew my confidence. I was coming from a few years that weren’t so good and to kind of get better every week in 2019 and finish it off with a couple wins was a milestone here for me,” he stated of the stretch. “It opened up a variety of doorways for me in 2020, a variety of new occasions and I really feel like I dealt with a variety of these effectively. I had a pair high 25s in majors.

“I feel like I’m poised for a pretty good 2021 … in a really good spot after I was last year at this time, so I’m just going with the ebbs and flows of golf and trying to play my best.”

Todd has been good within the new season, however there’s definitely room for enchancment. He completed T-23 on the U.S. Open, then made the lower in his subsequent two occasions — the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship — however struggled in his Bermuda title protection and missed the lower on the Masters. In typical Todd trend, he’s been straight (he was fourth on Tour in driving accuracy for the 2020 season), however not very lengthy (187th).

And hoping a little bit vacation break after this week will give him an opportunity to recharge his battery, however first, he’d want a profitable protection of his title in Cancun.

“It’s always great to be home. I’ve got three kids that are 6, 4 and 2,” he defined. “I take my 6-year-old out to play, so I received’t put the golf equipment away or something, I’ll solely have three weeks off earlier than Maui, Sony and the American Express, so I’m simply wanting ahead to the vacations and getting again after it in January,”