The PGA Tour’s Mexico Open, which begins Thursday, will be a respite for the world’s top players.
After a busy West Coast Swing in Hawaii, California and Arizona – including three Signature Events – the field for this week’s tournament at VidantaWorld in Vallarta lacks star power, with only three of the top 50 players on the World Golf Ranking in the field, No. 29 Aaron Rai, No. 30 Akshay Bhatia and No. 43 Rasmus Hojgaard.
Sam Stevens, at No. 16, is the highest player on the FedEx Cup points list in the field, followed by No. 21 Patrick Rodgers, No. 27 Michael Kim, No. 34 Harry Hall and Bhatia at No. 37.
But that leaves numerous opportunities for other players such as Jake Knapp, who won the tournament last year as a rookie.
The field includes a pair of Nease graduates making their first PGA Tour starts after long layoffs due to injuries and status: Tyler McCumber (shoulder injury), who last played at the 2024 American Express, and Vince Covello (who has conditional Korn Ferry Tour status), who has played 100 Korn Ferry Tour events and last played on the PGA Tour at the 2020 Wyndham Championship.
Other players to watch in the Mexico Open
-
PGA Tour Champions Tour member Padraig Harrington is playing on a sponsor exemption.
-
Twin brothers Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard, who also are in the field for the Masters in April.
-
Blades Brown, who turned pro in January at the age of 17 and was the runnerup in the 2024 Junior Players Championship.
Who are the area players in the Mexico Open field?
First Coast: Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, Vince Covello, Ben Griffin, Lanto Griffin, Philip Knowles, Tyler McCumber, Vince Covello, Sam Ryder, Danny Walker.
Golden Isles: Will Gordon, Patton Kizzire, Paul Peterson, Greyson Sigg.
Purse: $7 million ($1,260,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Jake Knapp.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
What other Tours are playing this week?
LPGA
Event: Honda LPGA Thailand, Wednesday-Saturday/Sunday, Siam Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand.
Purse: $1.7 million ($255,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Patty Tavatanakit.
Area players: None.
TV: Golf Channel (Wednesday/Thursday-Thursday/Friday, 10 p.m.-3 a.m.; Friday/Saturday-Saturday/Sunday, 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour’s Mexico Open: Lack of star power may present opportunities
