This week, the PGA Tour descends upon Nuevo Vallarta for the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta. The 36-hole, non-signature tournament offers a welcoming pit spot in between the West Coast and Florida swings.

The 36-hole cut event will feature a 136-player field and $8.1 million purse. The winner will earn $1.386 million and 500 FedExCup points.

The Mexico Open dates back to 1944, but this will be only its third go-round as a PGA Tour event. Tony Finau is the defending champion after posting a 24-under to beat Jon Rahm by three strokes last year. Finau was T2 in 2022.

“This golf course is high on my list as far as courses that look good to me and that I like, so I’ll be looking to definitely get after it again this week and try and defend this title,” said Finau.

Here's what else you need to know for the Mexico Open.

How to watch (all times ET)

TV: Golf Channel will broadcast live from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Their weekend coverage will go from 1-3 p.m. NBC will handle duties from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Streaming: The Mexico Open will stream on PGA Tour Live (via ESPN+) from 9:15 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. on the weekends.

Course notes

At 7,465 yards, the Greg Norman-designed course – the Norman Signature Course — is, like Riviera, a lengthy Par 71. Vidanta, though, is a sea-level resort course. The greens are easier to land, the fairways are vast (average of 40+ yards) and the sticky paspalum grass limits rollout. In other words: the drivers will be out.

Long iron play may prove the difference. Two-thirds of the approach shots hit at Vidanta in the two years of the event have come from at least 175 yards, according to the Action Network.

There are four par-5s and No. 17 is a drivable par-4.

The Sierra Madre mountains are visible on every hole.

Tee times

Starting on No. 1 (all times ET)

8:30 a.m. — Taylor Pendrith, Robby Shelton, Justin Lower
8:41 a.m. — Michael Kim, Brandon Wu, Sam Stevens
8:52 a.m. — Josh Teater, Justin Suh, David Lipsky
9:03 a.m. — Davis Riley, J.B. Holmes, Scott Stallings
9:14 a.m. — Martin Trainer, Mark Hubbard, Harry Hall
9:25 a.m. — Scott Piercy, Henrik Norlander, Greyson Sigg
9:36 a.m. — Jacob Bridgeman, Mac Meissner, Preston Stanley
9:47 a.m. — Harrison Endycott, David Skinns, Matt Atkins
9:58 a.m. — Victor Perez, Alexander Björk, Ben Sigel
10:09 a.m. — Paul Barjon, Norman Xiong, Stuart Macdonald
10:20 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Ryo Hisatsune, Omar Morales -a
1:15 p.m. — Nate Lashley, Aaron Baddeley, Alex Smalley
1:26 p.m. — Garrick Higgo, C.T. Pan, Scott Gutschewski
1:37 p.m. — Lanto Griffin, Austin Eckroat, Dylan Wu
1:48 p.m. — Erik van Rooyen, Emiliano Grillo, K.H. Lee
1:59 p.m. — Vincent Norrman, Matt Wallace, Nico Echavarria
2:10 p.m. — James Hahn, Chesson Hadley, Aaron Rai
2:21 p.m. — Joseph Bramlett, Carl Yuan, Ben Kohles
2:32 p.m. — Alejandro Tosti, Tom Whitney, Rodolfo Cazaubòn
2:43 p.m. — Rafael Campos, Erik Barnes, Jimmy Stanger
2:54 p.m. — Trace Crowe, Chandler Phillips, Alvaro Ortiz
2:05 p.m. — Chan Kim, Hayden Springer, Renato Naula -a

Starting on No. 10

8:30 a.m. — Doug Ghim, Andrew Novak, Kevin Chappell
8:41 a.m. — Ben Taylor, Ryan Fox, Maverick McNealy
8:52 a.m. — Charley Hoffman, S.H. Kim, Keith Mitchell
9:03 a.m. — Tony Finau, Mackenzie Hughes, Nicolai Højgaard
9:14 a.m. — Chez Reavie, Cameron Champ, Brandt Snedeker
9:25 a.m. — Francesco Molinari, Padraig Harrington, Peter Malnati
9:36 a.m. — Tyler Duncan, Troy Merritt, Thorbjørn Olesen
9:47 a.m. — Pierceson Coody, Raul Pereda, Fred Biondi
9:58 a.m. — Jake Knapp, Cristobal Del Solar, Wilson Furr
10:09 a.m. — Chris Gotterup, Ryan McCormick, Austin Wylie
10:20 a.m. — Jorge Campillo, Blaine Hale, Jr., Jose Antonio Safa (a)
1:15 p.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Patrick Rodgers, Stephan Jaeger
1:26 p.m. — Matt NeSmith, Vince Whaley, Carson Young
1:37 p.m. — Ryan Moore, Tyson Alexander, Callum Tarren
1:48 p.m. — J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Ryan Brehm
1:59 p.m. — Patton Kizzire, Davis Thompson, Matti Schmid
2:10 p.m. — Ryan Palmer, Thomas Detry, Roger Sloan
2:21 p.m. — Sebastián Vázquez, Bronson Burgoon, MJ Daffue
2:32 p.m. — Sami Valimaki, Philip Knowles, Max Greyserman
2:43 p.m. — Parker Coody, Joe Highsmith, Roberto Díaz
2:54 p.m. — Ben Silverman, Rico Hoey, Adrien Dumont de Chassart
2:05 p.m. — Kevin Dougherty, Patrick Fishburn, Santiago De la Fuente (a)

The favorite: Tony Finau (+900 – all odds courtesy of FanDuel)

Finau is, far and away, the favorite and highest-profile entrant, especially after Will Zalatoris withdrew.

An ice-cold putter has stymied Finau's start to the season, though he hasn't missed a cut. His T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines is his best finish in five starts. He was T19 at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

The defending champ should feast at Vidanta, as he often does on resort courses. Finau is among the sport's best long-iron guys. So far in 2024, the six-time PGA Tour champ ranks fifth in approach from 200+ yards, per The Fried Egg.

“Yeah, I feel prepared,” he said. “I've done some good work in the offseason with my body just to be strong. This golf course yields some birdies and I can really swing the driver with some freedom out here as there's a few holes that are pretty lenient as far as hitting areas, so I love that, being able to hit it hard and play this type of golf course. I do feel like I'm prime to go on a run starting this week.”

Based on early season trends, the odds are against a chalk result. The first seven PGA Tour events of 2024 have seen winners that were at least 80-1 long-shots when they teed off (whether that's a good thing for golf is certainly debatable).

Nicolai Højgaard — who I'm nicknaming Danish Dynamite starting…now — has the second-shortest odds (+1400) to win. The rising star was the youngest player in the 2023 Ryder Cup and won the 2023 DP World Tour Championship. His best result on Tour came at the Farmers last month: a runner-up.

Best Bets

The field is wide open, with only three of the top 40 players in the Official World Golf Rankings set to participate. Based on the profiles and track records of the following three players, I like their chances of finishing in the top 10.

Keith Mitchell (+240) is one of the PGA Tour's finest expert long-approach hitters and drivers. He's banked a pair of top 20s and three top-30s so far this season.

Taylor Pendrith (+260) has two top 10s in three starts in 2024 and five top-15s in his last seven starts. His quality can fluctuate, but his skills with the long iron and off the tee should translate to the friendly confines of Vidanta.

Brandon Wu (+550) isn't in the best form, but he's finished T2 and third the past two years. Wu has to have this event circled.

Other non-surprising would-be contenders: Emiliano Grillo, Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Stephan Jaeger, Maverick McNealy, Mark Hubbard, Doug Ghim

Notable storylines

  • Thorbjørn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune: Olesen has gained strokes on approach in each of his last nine starts. He just won at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in Dubai — his eighth DP win. On Wednesday, Augusta National announced that Olesen and Hisatsune — the 21-year-old, 2023 DP World Tour Rookie of the Year from Japan — earned special invites to The Masters, along with Joaquin Niemann.
  • Raul Pereda: With Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz competing in the LIV Golf League, Pereda is, amazingly, the lone Mexican player currently on the PGA Tour. The 27-year-old briefly sniffed contention in Mexico last year before finishing T60.

In general, the Mexico Open provides an exciting showcase for upstart Latin American talent. Another Mexican, University of Houston senior Santiago De la Fuente, is in the bracket after missing the cut last year. As the 2024 Latin America Amateur champ, De la Fuente has qualified for The Masters, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.

  • Cristobal Del Solar makes his second career PGA Tour start and first of 2024 in the aftermath of his record 57 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship in Chile.
  • 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Padraig Harrington will make his first PGA Tour start of the season on a sponsor exemption. The three-time major champ made seven cuts in eight starts in 2023.
  • Finally, a nugget for the broadcast nerds: Jim “Bones” Mackay will put down Justin Thomas' clubs for the week to rejoin the NBC Sports team. Bones will be an on-course rover on Thursday, then join the three-man booth through Sunday. Mackay worked as an on-course analyst between stints caddying for JT and Phil Mickelson.