The PGA TOUR returns to Mexico for the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, the first of two events on the schedule to try to earn a spot in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard via the Aon Swing 5.
The Mexico Open has a wide-open field chock-full of proven TOUR winners, star-in-waiting talent – like Blades Brown, who is making his second TOUR start of the season after turning pro at age 17 – and homegrown players looking to make a big splash in their home country of Mexico.
Here’s everything else you need to know from this week in Vallarta.
FIELD NOTES: Jake Knapp returns to defend his first PGA TOUR title in Mexico and comes into the week off his best result of the season, a T17 at The Genesis Invitational. … Akshay Bhatia also had his best result of 2025 last week at The Genesis, finishing T9 at Torrey Pines. Bhatia finished fourth in his first appearance at Vidanta in 2023. … Twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard are both in action in Mexico. Rasmus finished T12 at the WM Phoenix Open while Nicolai finished T36 in Phoenix, the only other start for the Ryder Cupper in 2025. … Past No. 1 on PGA TOUR University Michael Thorbjornsen is back teeing it up on TOUR and looks to kickstart his year with a solid result after missing two of three cuts so far this year. … There are more than a half-dozen PGA TOUR winners from 2024 in the field who are looking for a return to the winner’s circle in 2025, including Matt McCarty who earned a Three-Victory Promotion on the Korn Ferry Tour and captured the Black Desert Championship in just his third career TOUR start. … Other notables in action include Joel Dahmen, Aaron Rai, Emiliano Grillo, Erik van Rooyen and Kevin Yu. … The Open Qualifier happened already, with Hayden Springer earning spots in the field via a 5-for-4 playoff. This week will mark the PGA TOUR debut for Watkins, Lewis and Gifford.
SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Blades Brown will make his second start since turning professional earlier this season at age 17. Brown will turn 18 on May 21, when he will be eligible to earn PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour status on merit. Players under 18 cannot become TOUR members. The Nashville native finished T26 in his TOUR debut at last year’s Myrtle Beach Classic and now looks for his first fine result as a pro. … Fred Biondi is making his 2025 TOUR debut. Biondi was the 2023 NCAA individual champion and played his first PGA TOUR event as a pro at the 2023 Procore Championship. He missed the cut at last year’s Mexico Open. … Justin Hastings, a senior at San Diego State from the Cayman Islands, won the Latin America Amateur Championship earlier this year. This will be his second PGA TOUR start after playing the Puerto Rico Open in 2024. … Speaking of amateur champions, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio will make his second TOUR start in 2025 (after missing the cut at the WM Phoenix Open). Ballester won the 2024 U.S. Amateur. … The 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship winner, Santiago de la Fuente, will return to the Mexico Open after missing the cut last season. He turned professional last fall, and this will be his TOUR debut as a pro. … Paraguay’s Erich Fortlage, 2024 Mexico National Amateur champion Gerardo Gomez, Argentina’s Leandro Mihaich and Mexico’s own Alvaro Ortiz and Jose Antonio Safa also will be in the field. … Rounding out the sponsor exemptions are multi-time PGA TOUR winner Scott Piercy and major champion Padraig Harrington. Harrington played seven PGA TOUR events last year, including the Mexico Open, where he found the weekend.
SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The Mexico Open marks the first event of the next Aon Swing 5 for players to qualify for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches being the other tournament that's part of the Swing. … The top 10 FedExCup points earners through the Cognizant Classic will earn their way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational via the Aon Next 10. … Nick Taylor currently tops the Aon Next 10 list by more than 100 points over Maverick McNealy at No. 2 (who jumped inside the Aon Next 10 from No. 11 last week). … Thanks to his T3 at The Genesis Patrick Rodgers made a tremendous leap from No. 61 to No. 7. Rodgers is in the field this week at the Mexico Open.
COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES: With Ludvig Åberg’s win at The Genesis Invitational, the young Swede jumps from No. 22 to No. 1 in the standings. … Hideki Matsuyama jumped to No. 2 after finishing T13 at Torrey Pines, while last week’s No.1, Sepp Straka, fell to No. 3. … There were two other entrants into the TOUR TOP 10 after The Genesis, with McNealy zipping up from No. 25 to No. 7 after his solo second (thanks to his final-round 64, the low round of the week) and defending COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 winner Scottie Scheffler moving from No. 39 to No. 10 after he finished T3. … Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im and Cam Davis dropped out.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.
COURSE: VidantaWorld's Vidanta Vallarta course is a par 71 at 7,436 yards. More than 250 yards were added to the golf course from its original design, which opened in 2015, in preparation for the arrival of the PGA TOUR in 2022. It meanders along the Ameca River, while views of the Sierra Madre Occidental are offered on every hole. There are large landing areas off the tee and large greens to hit but are protected by cavernous bunkers. The back nine features three par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s.
72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Tony Finau (2023)
18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Jon Rahm (third round, 2023)
LAST TIME: Jake Knapp’s even-par finale was enough for him to break through for his maiden PGA TOUR title, winning by two over Sami Valimaki. Knapp opened with bogeys on two of his first three holes but steadied the ship with birdies on Nos. 7 and 14. Valimaki was 3 under for his first seven holes, including an eagle on the par-4 seventh after he drove the green, but he bogeyed Nos. 10 and 13 after making the turn, leaving him tied with Knapp with just six holes left. But Knapp got up-and-down on four of his next five holes – including one for birdie – to stay steady until the end. Stephan Jaeger, C.T. Pan and Justin Lower finished tied for third.
How to follow (all times ET):
Television:- Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
| -- | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Stream 1 | Main feed: 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. | Main feed: 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. | Main feed: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. | Main feed: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. |
| Stream 2 | Marquee group: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. | Marquee group: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. | Marquee group: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. | Marquee group: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. |
| Stream 3 | Featured groups/holes: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. | Featured groups/holes: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. | Featured groups/holes: 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m. | Featured groups/holes: 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m. |
| Stream 4 | Spanish feed: 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. | Spanish feed: 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. | Spanish feed: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. | Spanish feed: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. |
- Main feed: Primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
- Marquee group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
- Featured groups: Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
- Featured holes: Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes
- Spanish feed: For the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, ESPN+ and PGA TOUR LIVE will provide full Spanish language coverage for each round.
- Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m.
- Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.
Congratulations again to last week's winner @Bill From Tampa
with another solid week, @DFSNOLE maintains the overall lead as we head to Mexico
Good luck to everyone, except @SeaPA this week
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