The West Coast swing left behind four weeks of torrential rainstorms, Gale force winds, numerous wet soggy fairways and some out-of-control fans along the way.
This week, the PGA Tour heads south of the border to the Vidanta Vallarta Course at Vidanta Nuevo Nayarit-Vallarta for the third annual Mexico Open.
One week after a Signature Event at the Genesis Invitational, the field in Mexico will not feature many of the world’s marquee names. Despite being an official event, only one player (defending champion Tony Finau) in the field is ranked in the top 30 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
The 2024 Mexico Open will be contested, February 22-25, with a 132-player field, offering 500 FedEx Cup points and a $1,458,000 to the winner.
The Course
Awarded ‘Renovation of the Year’ by Golf Inc. magazine in 2022, the Vidanta Vallarta course is home to the PGA Tour Mexico Open at Vidanta and is designed by golf legend Greg Norman.
Featuring wall-to-wall paspalum, the layout winds along the Ameca River, providing views of the Sierra Madre mountains from every hole. Large landing areas off the tee give way to large undulating greens protected by cavernous bunkers, in typical Norman fashion.
History
The Mexico Open dates back to 1944 when it was called ‘Abierto Mexicano de Golf’ and is considered Mexico’s national championship. In the 80 years, since the first Mexican Open tournament, there have been nine name changes. When it became a permanent part of the PGA Tour schedule in 2021-2022 it returned back to its original name, the Mexico Open.
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).
Round 1
It’s a little difficult to not think that you’re watching the minor-league version of the 2024 PGA Tour with so many of the circuit’s high-profile names missing in action.
The current players, with the highest (OWGR) are Tony Finau (No. 24) -2, Nicolai Hojgaard (34) -3, Emiliano Grillo (40) -2, and Ryan Fox (41) -E. Making matters worse, not a single one of these top-50 ranked players landed in the top 20 after day one.
The Mexico Open is an opportunity for a number of these lesser-known players, whose names are seldom seen atop a PGA Tour leaderboard, to showcase their talents and move up a few notches in both the Official World Golf Rankings and FedEx Cup standings.
After day one in Mexico, Eric Van Rooyen, who made 2 eagles on his way to his 8-under 63, was in the pole position.
When asked about the secret to his success, playing here in Mexico, Van Rooyen said, “I don’t know what it is, got to be the food, the people, the whole shebang.”
Sami Valimaki was one back on 7 under, one clear of MJ Daffue, Christobal Del Solar, David Lipsky, and Henrik Norlander, who were tied for third at -6.
Of note, Robby Shelton (-4) recorded the longest birdie streak of the 2024 season with seven in a row on Nos. 6-12 during the opening round.
Round 1: Top 5
1. Eric Van Rooyen -8 (63)
2. Sami Valimaki -7 (64)
3. MJ Daffue -6 (65)
3. Christobal Del Solar -6 (65)
3. David Lipsky -6 (65)
3. Henrik Norlander -6 (65)
Round 2
Korn Ferry golfer Alvaro Ortiz fired a 7-under-par 64 as he sought another victory in his home country. A two-time winner on Mexican Golf Tour in 2023, Ortiz now shares the lead at the halfway point of the Mexico Open.
“The more I play the more comfortable I feel, and I start to realize that I have the game,” said Ortiz. “I’ve been doing good work and (trying to) put four rounds together. Hopefully, I can do that this weekend.”
Matt Wallace chased an opening-round 66 with a 6-under 65 on Friday, and, along with Ortiz, is one of four players deadlocked atop the leaderboard after 36 holes.
“My iron play is great, putting was really nice,” Wallace said. “I managed my game at the end there really well.”
Jake Knapp (64) and Sami Valimaki rounded out the foursome tied for the lead.
After a day-two round of 69, overnight leader Erik van Rooyen was one off the pace at 10 under.
Notables missing the cut (-2) were Charley Hoffman (E), Ryan Fox (+2), Francesco Molinari (+2) and Mackenzie Hughes (+8).
Round 2: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 2)
1. Alvaro Ortiz -11 (-7)
1. Jake Knapp -11 (-7)
1. Matt Wallace -11 (-5)
1. Sami Valimaki -11 (-4)
5. Erik van Rooyen -10 (-2)
Round 3
On Saturday, it didn’t take long for the sun-drenched galleries at the Mexico Open to start searching through their programs to learn more about the guy with “knapptime” written on his golf bag.
Jake Knapp began his third round in a four-way share of the lead, while paired with Mexico native Alvaro Ortiz. Despite playing in front of the largest gallery of his career, alongside the hometown favorite, the 29-year-old “rookie” reeled off seven birdies over his first nine holes to secure sole possession of the lead at the turn.
Trying to deal with his sudden popularity (and nerves), Knapp proceeded to hit his tee shot on No. 10 directly into the left hazard. He ended up taking a drop, leading to a bogey to fall back to 17-under par, just two strokes ahead of Sami Valimaki (-15), who had four birdies and a 31 on the front nine.
Knapp finished his homeward nine with four birdies against three bogeys to post 8-under par 63. His three-day total of 19-under par tied the 54-hole tournament scoring record. Knapp will take a four-shot lead into Sunday’s finale, in what could be a record-breaking finish.
More than a Masters invite is at stake for Knapp and Valimaki – another PGA Tour rookie, who earned his card this year from being among the leading 10 players on the European Tour: a victory comes with a two-year PGA Tour exemption, including a spot in the remaining five $20 million Signature Events, as well as the PGA Championship.
Round 3: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 3)
1. Jake Knapp -19 (-8)
2. Sami Valimaki -15 (-4)
3. Ben Silverman -12 (-8)
3. Henrik Norlander -12 (-6)
3. Chan Kim -12 (-5)
Final Round
A perfect day for golf had given the field an equal opportunity to “go low” while removing all the possible excuses. Considering the lack of marquee players in the field this week, there has been no decline in the level of golf being played (so far). The “new faces” on the PGA Tour are very talented.
Jake Knapp appeared to come down with a case of the jitters overnight, as he struggled out of the starting gate. The California native bogeyed the No. 1 hole and got into trouble off the tee on No. 2, but managed to walk away with a par. His tee shot on the 3rd hole landed in the water hazard, which forced him to take a drop, resulting in his second bogey after just a trio of holes. Now sitting 17-under par, after two dropped shots, his “dream” round was slowly turning into a “nightmare.”
Coupled with Knapp’s early struggles, Sami Valimaki got red hot and quickly moved to 18 under, highlighted by an eagle on the 7th hole.
As the final pairing moved to the 8th tee, it was a “dead heat” at -18.
The leaderboard as the final twosome made the turn had Knapp and Valimaki deadlocked at -18, five shots clear of the chasing pack which included Patrick Rodgers (65).
It was a two-man race to the finish.
However, the longer the final round progressed the more it began to look like an annual Member-Guest tournament. It was clear that some players were not ready for prime time and others forgot to bring their “A game” with them. The leaderboard appeared to have the power shut off as only Knapp and Valimaki saw the top two spots all day long.
Final Round: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 4)
1. Jake Knapp -19 (E)
2. Sami Valimaki -17 (-2)
3. C.T. Pan -14 (-6)
3. Stephan Jaeger -14 (-6)
3. Justin Lower -14 (-3)
The Awards
Jake Knapp finished 19-under and claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2024 Mexico Open. He is the recipient of the iconic Mexico Open Trophy and the winner’s check for $1,458,000 along with 500 FedEx Cup points. It was Jake’s ninth PGA Tour start, and only his second payday. He finished third at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open. His career earnings, prior to today, were $562,132.00.
NBC Sports Reporter Damon Hack asked Jake, “With your four shot lead gone through seven holes, you hit two fairways on this Sunday. How did you find the gumption to get the job done today?”
Knapp said, “I didn’t necessarily have my best stuff today, that’s for sure. I kind of told Mike (Caddie), I was like, after those first three holes, that’s as bad as we could have played.
“We still got a two-shot lead. So just trying to settle in, that would have been nice to hit driver better and hit a little bit better, but we’re super pumped on on how I played in the the finishing stretch and yeah just grind it out.”
Sami Valimaki finished runner-up at 17-under. He picked up a check for $882,900.00 and 300 FedEx Cup points.
