Power Rankings: How does field stack up at VidantaWorld Mexico Open?

Two weeks in Mexico to play golf with the potential to get paid for it? Yes, please.

Indeed, the back half of the PGA Tour’s four consecutive stops abroad will be spent entirely on the western edges of the country. This week’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open is in Nuevo Nayarit along the state border of Jalisco and Nayarit. It will be followed by next week’s World Wide Technology Championship on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in Los Cabos. Both are reserved for 120 golfers.

Although fun in the sun is baked into the expectation at VidantaWorld, entrants also must go to school on significant changes to Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course, which has been the host for all five editions in tournament history. But it’s also just the next in the broader evolution in these parts.

Continue reading beneath the ranking of those projected to contend for that history, what’s new and more.

This is one of those weeks when it could take less time to read what hasn’t changed at Vidanta Vallarta since the PGA Tour last set up shop early in 2025, but let’s dive in.

For starters, after debuting mid-spring in 2022, the last two stagings of the tournament were held in late February. So, instead of a time slot during which membership is just starting to build what eventually will be its FedExCup season, it’s transitioned to Halloween weekend when pressure is intensifying on many to secure cards for next season. Only four tournaments remain until the finish line.

The other two headlines concerning the tournament and the course go hand in hand.

First, the entire routing is new. Three segments of the previous walk remain familiar in their cadence, but what used to be the par-4 first hole now is the par-4 18th. (More on it in a moment.) What once were the par-4 fourth hole and the par-3 fifth have been replaced by the par-4 fourth and par-3 17th in the new routing. Both newly designed holes are borrowed from the Nayar Course, so all 18 now contribute to a composite course.

Overall par has remained at 71 with five par 3s and four par 5s (with only three par 4s on the outward side), but overall length is down 99 yards to 7,337 yards. While the replacement of the two aforementioned holes reflects an aggregate decrease of 70 yards, another 29 yards was shaved across gains and losses of five holes. The par-4 first (formerly the par-4 10th) was reduced by 45 yards and the par-4 10th (formerly the par-4 second) is 38 yards shorter. Those are the biggest drops.

On the other side of the ledger, the par-4 14th (formerly the par-4 eighth) is 20 yards longer. It complements the finishing hole that now tips at 455 yards, reflective of an increase of 40 yards thanks primarily to a new tee. To accommodate it, the target area was expanded and a cart path was relocated away from that. Trees were also removed.

The sweeping adjustments also included modifications to the putting surface at the par-3 15th hole (formerly the par-3 ninth). Put it all together, and the agreement to shift the tournament on the schedule was necessary to allow time for the project to be completed.

Change has been a constant beside Banderas Bay, though. As tourism has grown, what once were two time zones separated by the state border were aligned for Central Time in 2010. A dozen years later, Daylight Saving Time was eliminated, so the tournament has been contested in Central Standard Time since. Even the name of the city in which Vidanta Vallarta is located changed, also in 2022. It used to be Nuevo Vallarta.

As locals have adapted to all of that over time, how Vidanta Vallarta challenges in its version 2.0 will depend on the weather, naturally. However, aside from a threat for boomers at some point on Thursday, VidantaWorld should be as welcoming as advertised. Almost nothing but sun, daytime highs way up in the 80s and light winds will define the experience.

With the notion that the course will have the chance to present its best self, expect guys to get after it off the tee. Vidanta Vallarta has been labeled as a bomber’s paradise, but defending champion Brian Campbell registered the shortest average distance of all drives among 180 PGA Tour members throughout the 2025 season. In an amusing cosmic balance of sorts, the long-hitter he outlasted in a playoff, Aldrich Potgieter, paced the circuit in the same stat.

So, distance is nice, but all skill sets are rewarded. Returning participants also are tossed a bone in that the rough remains a familiar 2.5 inches tall and the greens once again are prepped to touch 11 feet as measured by the Stimpmeter. All grass is Platinum paspalum.

Last year’s field turned in a tournament record of 69.510, so it will be a shootout amid the learning curve. With putting playing up, landing it close is the premium. Vidanta Vallarta has ranked a respective first, second, third and fourth in proximity to the hole since its debut.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATour.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X, where you can connect with him.

MONDAY: Power Rankings

TUESDAY: Expert Picks; Sleepers*; Top 100 Watch

SUNDAY: Points and Payouts; Qualifiers

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