Out of the Rough: VidantaWorld Mexico Open (2026)

For the fifth consecutive season, the PGA Tour heads to Mexico for the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.

The first two installments of this event were played during the last week of April. The last two installments were played in February.

Now, for the first time, the event has found a new time slot in the PGA Tour schedule, being played during the FedEx Cup Fall in October. 

The event originated from the Mexican Golf Open which dates back to 1944. It is considered Mexico’s national championship.

The Mexico Open took over for the WGC Mexico Championship which is no longer being held.

The Field

Overall, this is a quality field for a FedEx Cup Fall event.

World No. 5 Wyndham Clark headlines this week’s field. Ben Griffin (No. 28) and Tom Kim (31st) join him as those ranked within the top-50 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) to be playing this week.

Other notable golfers playing this week include Marco Penge, Corey Conners, Johnny Keefer, Austin Smotherman, Jordan Smith, Harry Hall and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

Brian Campbell comes in as the defending champion, winning in improbable fashion a season ago in a playoff over Aldrich Potgieter. Campbell and Potgieter will both be teeing it up this week.

Tony Finay (2023) is the only other former winner of this event to be playing this week.

The Course

The Signature Course at Vidanta Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta is a Greg Norman design and will host its fifth PGA Tour event with the return of the Mexico Open.

This par-71 championship course plays at roughly 7,337 on the score card.

Following last year’s installment, which saw Brian Campbell top Aldrich Potgieter in a playoff, the course underwent an extensive renovation.

The renovation, targeted towards holes four, eight, 17 and 18 were completed to enhance course strategy, drama and spectator experience.

Hole four was extended in length and made to become more strategic. New bunkers were added to frame the fairway and include a slight right-to-left dogleg. A new green complex was also constructed, defended by bunkers to the front right. 

Hole eight also saw the inclusion of new fairway bunkers that now creates a larger variety of tee shots. The par-five has been transitioned to more of a risk-reward hole.

Hole 17, a par-three, now plays with a stadium-esque theme. The idea was to transform this hole into a strategically iconic hole for the golf course. 

The closing hole, the par-four 18th, features a new landing area between lakes off-the-tee. New greenside bunkers were added as well. 

The course extends along the Ameca River with spectacular views of the nearby Sierra Madre Mountain Range. The inclusion of indigenous trees, native grasses and jungle that surround the core course adds to its natural beauty.

Fun fact, the course features the world's longest golf cart suspension bridge spanning the Ameca River from Nayarit to Jalisco.

Getting off the tee is of the utmost importance this week as this course can best be described as a “bombers paradise” as it is a flat track with wide fairways and very little rough.

It offers generous fairways and non penal rough. Therefore the course rewards the longest drivers in the field.

Long iron play too will be something we look very closely at this week as historically, 35-percent of total approach shots came from beyond 200 yards. That is nearly double the PGA Tour average.

The plethora of 200-yard-plus approach shots come from the combination of three 195-plus yard par-threes, four long par-fives and six par-fours that play over 450 yards.

The Signature Course at Vidanta Vallarta features slow and sticky Paspalum grass throughout.

Although the greens too are Paspalum, they play fast with plenty of subtle breaks and undulation and played to the tune of 12 on the Stimpmeter. The green complexes too are on the larger side when it comes to PGA Tour standards.

The greens are also well protected by bunkers, with 106 total on the course and are surrounded by tricky collection areas. Although featuring the tricky collection areas around the greens, Paspalum levels the field when it comes to around the green play.

Water too is in play on 14 holes this week and along with numerous sandy waste areas, will serve as a line of defense to the course in capturing wayward shots.

The course too is known for its high winds that come from the Pacific Coast line. Golfers well coursed in windy conditions will see an advantage this week.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday currently calls for a 60-percent chance of thunderstorms. Thunderstorms will continue into Friday with a 60-percent chance of afternoon storms. Saturday is calling for a 35-percent chance of afternoon showers and Sunday is calling for a 25-percent chance of precipitation. Temperatures will be on the warmer side this week, as Thursday calls for a high of 87-degrees. From there, temperatures will reach 88-degrees for Friday and Saturday before finishing the week with a high of 89-degrees on Sunday. Winds are currently slated for seven miles-per-hour across all four days.

Key Stats

• Average Driving Distance

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT)

• Approach Shots from 200-plus Yards

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Greens in Regulation Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Bogey Avoidance

Betting Card

Check back on Monday (10/26) for my full betting card!

2025 Betting Card

• Alex Smalley (+4500) - T10th

• Nicolai Hojgaard (+5500) - 8th

• Kevin Roy (+6000) - T17th

• Trey Mullinax (+10000) - MC

• Jackson Suber (+11000) - MC

• Sami Valimaki (+30000) - T34th

2024 Betting Card

• Nicolai Hojgaard (+1800) - T52nd

• Keith Mitchell (+3300) - T19th

• Erik van Rooyen (+4000) - T8th

• Davis Thompson (+4500) - T24th

• Sam Stevens (+7000) - MC

• Parker Coody (+11000) - T24th

2023 Betting Card

• Wyndham Clark (+1800) - T24th

• Gary Woodland (+2200) - T39th

• Will Gordon (+6000) - T24th

• Akshay Bhatia (+10000) - 4th

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