Mexico Open at VidantaWolrd
Greg Norman Signature Course at Vidanta Vallarta
Vallarta, Mexico
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Top of the Board (odds via Bet365)
Akshay Bhatia (+1200): Supreme coastal/wind player, has all the shots and is the class of the field for my money. Easy to see why he’s on top.
Rasmus Hojgaard (+1400): I prefer him in the desert.
Kurt Kitayama (+2200): Another desert star, his putter will have to keep up with his fantastic ball-striking.
Patrick Rodgers (+2500): The current form meets course form. What could possibly go wrong?!?!?
Stephan Jaeger (+2500): Nothing worse than T18 from three starts includes T3 last year.
Sam Stevens (+2500): He should be ready pop. Cashed in his last 13 on TOUR and decent on the surface. Gave it a run against the big boys last week as well.
Michael Kim (+2800): After bombing out at the FIO in late January, he cashed T13 last week after running second, albeit seven shots back of Detry, in Phoenix.
Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:
Taylor Moore (+3000): All you can get.
Justin Lower (+5000): More than you need, plus one.
Jacob Bridgeman (+6600): Incredible on the surface. Incredibly soft number here, boooooooooo.
Thorbjorn Olesen (+6600): His grass.
Antoine Rozner (+8000): Four of his last seven starts worldwide are top-10 results, including a solo fourth in Qatar his last time out.
Nate Lashley or Emiliano Grillo (+12500): Both veterans and winners on this surface.
Rafa Campos (+50000): Yes, please.
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Greg Norman Signature Course at Vidanta Vallarta |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,436. |
| Par: | 71 (35-36). |
| Greens: | Platinum Paspalum; 7,000 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11 feet. |
| Rough: | Platinum Paspalum at 2.5 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 106/14/12 |
| Architect(s): | Greg Norman (2015). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Jake Knapp (-19) |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | N/A |
| Course Record: | 61; Jon Rahm (Round 3, 2023). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record | 260; Tony Finau (2023). |
| Fact of the Week: | Knapp won in only his ninth TOUR start. |
| Fact of the Week II: | Paspalum for the first time since El Cardonal last fall. |
The 65th edition of the Mexico Open tees off at Greg Norman’s Signature Course at Vidanta Vallarta.
The Australian’s coastal design, located just off the Pacific Ocean, opened in 2015. Playing 7,436 yards to Par 71, the track features tee-to-green Platinum Paspalum.
Back for the second consecutive February edition, the forecast is outstanding for the four tournament days.
Without a plethora of course history, I suggest you read Horses for Courses at pgatour.com for more insight.
The resort course provides massive landing areas off the fairway to account for everyday players and the ocean breezes off the Pacific Ocean.
The Paspalum putting surfaces, 7,000 square feet, on average, will be prepped to run at just 11 feet.
Errant tee balls and approaches must steer clear of over 100 bunkers and water hazards found on 12 of 18 holes.
One of the biggest ballparks around, even with 20 yards shaved off the scorecard, Vidanta Vallarta has five Par-3 and four Par-5 holes. The course also features two holes (No. 10 and No. 16) as two of the toughest scoring chances on TOUR.
Notes:
- Field of 132.
- The cut will be made after 36 holes. The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
- The OWGR is represented by four of the top 50.
- $7 million – $1.26 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry, PLAYERS, and Masters ticket punched.
Recent Winners
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (first time) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Children’s Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
Recent Winners – Mexico Open at Vidanta
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2024 | Jake Knapp (-19) | The rookie led by four after 54 holes and won comfortably by two shots over Sami Valimaki. |
| 2023 | Tony Finau (-24) | Rolled to a three-shot victory over Rahm. |
| 2022 | Jon Rahm (-17) | Held off Tony Finau and Brandon Wu by one shot. None of these players are entered. |
Angles
The eighth event of the 2024 PGA TOUR season will be the first of two in Mexico this year. El Cardonal in Los Cabos will return in the fall to host for the second time.
The combination of a Greg Norman track and Mexico was in play at Mayakoba on the Yucatan Peninsula from 2007 through 2022.
Paspalum is a common playing surface in the resorts of the Caribbean and Mexico. PGA TOUR events played recently on Paspalum include El Cardonal, Puerto Rico Open, Corales Puntacana, and Mayakoba. Korn Ferry Tour players have experienced this surface in two events in the Bahamas.
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | 3rd | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Russell Henley | T10 | 195,025 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | MC | |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T32 | 52,080 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Ludvig Aberg | WD | |
| WM Phoenix Open | Rasmus Hojgaard | T12 | 195,500 |
| Genesis Invitational | Will Zalatoris | T24 | 168,857 |
LAST WEEK – Genesis Invitational
MY CHOICE: Will Zalatoris – T24
Making the cut on +3, I knew I was toast before the weekend started.
I should have just blindly stuck Tony Finau in, oh look, another top 10, another top 25…
Is this over yet?
This Week – Mexico Open at Vidanta
Patrick Rodgers
Fresh off a sniff in the big leagues of a Signature Event, it’s time to finally kick down the door to victory. Since he probably won’t, I’d also look at:
Justin Lower
Kurt Kitayama
Sam Stevens
Any of the Gaards
And of course, Karl Vilips
Glass Houses 