The PGA Tour heads south of the dangerous U.S. border this week for the Mexico Open. On the tour’s 2024 schedule, the Mexico stop fills the calendar between the West Coast and Florida swings.
The long-running national championship of Mexico will feature a relatively weak field in 2024, with only defending champion Tony Finau (24) ranked in the watered-down OWGR top 25. Despite the weakness of the OWGR due to the banning of LIV golfers, the field still only includes four players inside its top 50, including Nicolai Hojgaard (34), Emiliano Grillo (40), and Ryan Fox (41).
As we do each week, here’s a roundup of information and data to get you prepped for a week of PGA Tour golf south of the border.
This week’s Primer is powered by Taylormade Golf.
PGA Tour Skinny
Tournament: Mexico Open
Title Sponsor: Grupo Salinas
PGA Tour Debut: 2022
PGA Tour Week: 8th (of 34)
Dates: Feb. 22-25, 2024
Where: Vallarta, Mexico
Course: Vidanta Vallarta
Distance: Par 71, 7456 yards
Architect: Greg Norman (2015)
Format: 72-holes, stroke play
Purse: $8,100,000
Winning Share: $1,458,000
Defending Champion: Tony Finau
How to Follow the Mexico Open
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 3:30-6:30 p.m. (GOLF); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 8:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Watch on ESPN+
PGA TOUR RADIO: Thu-Fri: 1-6:30 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m.
(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)
LINKS: Web | Instagram | X | Facebook
Mexico Open History
The roots of the Mexico Open date back to 1944 with PGA Tour pro Al Espinosa taking the first four editions. The famed Chapultepec course hosted fourteen of the tournament’s first 16 editions.
From 1944 through 2002 it was called the Mexican Open and was not associated with any tour. In 2003, it became part of the Tour de las Américas – the principal pro golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, superseded by PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
From 2008 through 2012 it was part of the PGA Tour’s major developmental tour (Nationwide and Web). In 2013 it became part of the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, formerly known as the aforementioned Tour de las Américas.
The Mexican-American Espinosa holds the record for the most Mexico Open wins with four. He’s followed by Argentinian legend Roberto De Vicenzo, who won three titles in a five-year span (1951, 1953, 1955).
Then world No. 1 Jon Rahm won the reboot edition in 2022.
Lee Trevino is the tournament’s most iconic champion. The “Merry Mex” is a two-time winner (1973, 1975) and the only player in history to win the national open championship of the United States (US Open), Canada (Canadian Open), Britain (British Open), and Mexico (Mexico Open).
Other two-time winners include Americans Tony Holguin (1949-50), Tony Lema (1961-62) and Stewart Cink (1996, 1999).
Ernesto Pérez Acosta (1970, 1976) is the only Mexican native to win multiple titles.
The new version of the Mexico Open also has bloodlines to the WGC-Mexico Championship as this was the tournament it replaced on the PGA Tour schedule. It was also initially retitled to the Mexico Championship, before deciding to take ownership of the Mexico Open’s history.
It’s also being managed and sponsored by Grupo Salinas, which ran the three editions of the WGC stop in Mexico at Chapultepec.
History: Tournament Names
- Mexico Open (2022-24)
- Abierto Mexicano de Golf (2018-21)
- Mexico Open (2015-16)
- TransAmerican Power Products CRV Mexico Open (2014)
- Abierto Mexicano de Golf (2013)
- Mexico Open (2011-12)
- Mexico Open Bicentenary (2010)
- Mexico Open (2008-09)
- Abierto Mexicano Corona (2005-06)
- Mexican Open (1944-2003)
Mexico Open Field
Easily the weakest field of 2024 will tee it up at Vidanta Vallarta for the Mexico Open’s third edition on the PGA Tour.
Leading the way is world No. 24 Tony Finau, who enters as the defending champion. The 32-year-old American also finished T2 in the 20222 edition.
Other familiar names include Nicolai Hojgaard, Emiliano Grillo and Maverick McNealy.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Tony Finau (7-1)
2. Nicolai Hojgaard (14-1)
3. Emiliano Grillo (20-1)
3. Stephan Jaeger (20-1)
5. Keith Mitchell (22-1)
Full Field: Rank & Odds
Vidanta Vallarta . Vallarta, Mexico . Feb 22-25, 2024
Joel Cook contributed to this preview.
Credits: PGA Tour Media, OWGR, Bovada, Getty Images, Wikipedia
