Mayakoba stat pack

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has made the trip, course designer Greg Norman is in the field and there are nine more major champions.

Also in action is the third biggest money-winner in the United States this season - Johnson Wagner, who won last month's Sony Open in Hawaii but is still outside the game's top 64 who qualified for the year's first world championship.

There are strong links between Spain and Mexico, of course, and with no regular European Tour event this week Alejandro Canizares and Jose Manuel Lara have grabbed an opportunity to play as well.

Opened in 2006, El Camaleon was built on low-lying ground and has water coming into play on many holes.

The course is located around 40 miles south of Cancun and all five previous winners at El Camaleon have been American.

So who might be the ones to watch?

Briny Baird: Still searching for his maiden Tour win. The 39-year-old lost out in a play-off at last October's Frys.com Open in California.

Brian Gay: Winner in 2008 and with a highest finish this season of tied-sixth at Waialae.

Charles Howell: No top 10s at El Camaleon but will fancy his chances in what is normally one of the weaker fields on the PGA Tour. At No 71 in the world, he is the second highest ranked American teeing-up.

Spencer Levin: Has made a decent start to 2012 and came close to winning at TPC Scottsdale where he opened with rounds of 65 and 63 en route to finishing third. He lost a play-off in Mexico 12 months ago.

Rory Sabbatini: Posted a top-10 finish on his El Camaleon debut last year.

Johnson Wagner: The defending champion has already won on Tour this year - in Hawaii - and should be full of confidence this week. He is currently second in the FedEx Cup standings and third in the money list. Has had four top-25 finishes from five starts this year.

SELECTED PLAYERS with GOOD to REASONABLE FORM at EL CAMALEON

Full Tour History

Player: '07 / '08 / '09 / '10 / '11

Briny Baird: 63 / 12 / 6 / 4 / 5
Cameron Beckman: 7 / 42 / 15 / Won / 12
John Cook: 26 / - / - / - / 3
Joe Durant: - / 12 / 28 / 2 / MC
Brian Gay: 41 / Won / 20 / - / 5
JJ Henry: - / - / 2 / 48 / 19
Tim Herron: 31 / 22 / - / 23 / 29
Charles Howell: - / - / 38 / 20 / 13
Jerry Kelly: 26 / - / 6 / 28 / 50
Jose Manuel Lara: Wd / - / 13 / - / 29
Spencer Levin: - / - / MC / 28 / 2
Peter Lonard: 3 / 7 / 46 / - / -
Jarrod Lyle: 35 / - / 6 / 9 / 5
Joe Ogilvie: 18 / 12 / MC / 63 / 29
Chris Riley: 18 / 22 / 28 / 13 / 42
Heath Slocum: - / - / 3 / 13 / -
Kevin Stadler: 13 / 48 / 20 / 9 / 74
Chris Stroud: MC / 12 / 60 / 40 / 4
Skip Kendall: 9 / MC / - / 4 / MC

SELECTED PLAYERS with POOR to MEDIOCRE FORM at EL CAMALEON

Full Tour History

(No Top 40 finishes from two or more starts)

Player: '07 / '08 / '09 / '10 / '11

Michael Allen: 78 / - / - / - / 56
Craig Barlow: - / - / - / 71 / 45
Kris Blanks: - / - / MC / 59 / -
Mark Calcavecchia: 41 / - / - / 71 / -
Chad Campbell: - / - / 49 / - / MC
Chris DiMarco: - / - / 65 / Wd / -
James Driscoll: - / MC / MC / - / MC
Robert Gamez: 66 / MC / MC / MC / 50
Jason Gore: - / - / Wd / 48 / 71
Nathan Green: 41 / - / 78 / - / 74
Lee Janzen: MC / MC / MC / - / MC
Dicky Pride: 55 / MC / 72 / MC / MC
Brett Quigley: - / - / 57 / - / MC
Josh Teater: - / - / - / MC / MC
Michael Thompson: - / - / MC / - / MC
Kirk Triplett: - / - / - / 48 / 50
Marc Turnesa: - / 71 / - / - / MC
Garrett Willis: Wd / MC / MC / 48 / MC

LEADING 12 STROKE AVERAGES at EL CAMALEON (Last Four Years - 2008/11)

(No. of Rounds in Brackets)

Average (Rounds)

67.75: Brian Gay (12)
68.13: Heath Slocum (8)
68.17: Jarrod Lyle (12)
68.25: Briny Baird (16)
68.63: Cameron Beckman (16)
68.75: Patrick Sheehan (8)
68.88: Jose Manuel Lara (8)
68.88: Peter Lonard (8)
68.92: JJ Henry (12)
69.00: Spencer Levin (10)
69.13: Mark Hensby (8)
69.25: Charles Howell (12)
69.25: John Merrick (16)

(Min. No. of Rounds = 8)

Finished in TOP-10 in 2011

Johnson Wagner (Won)
Spencer Levin (2nd)
John Cook (3rd)
Chris Stroud (4th)
Briny Baird (T5)
Brian Gay (T5)
Jarrod Lyle (T5)
Rory Sabbatini (T5)

LOWEST ROUNDS at EL CAMALEON (since venue first staged a PGA Tour event in 2007)

61: Roland Thatcher (2008)
62: Fred Funk (2007)
62: Brent Geiberger (2007)
62: Brian Gay (2008)
62: Kevin Na (2009)
63: 7 times

Note: The lowest final round score is 64 (posted three times)

El Camaleon: Par 71; 6,987 yards

Winning Totals (Last Three Years):

2011 - 267 (Johnson Wagner)
2010 - 269 (Cameron Beckman)
2009 - 267 (Mark Wilson)