This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld
Course: Vidanta Vallarta (7,436 yards, par 71)
Purse: $7,000,000
Winner: $1,260,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
After a thrilling West Coast Swing, the PGA Tour is making a quick stop in Mexico before four straight weeks in Florida that includes a Signature Event in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the PGA Tour's flagship event in THE PLAYERS Championship. The last few events have featured some stacked fields, but as is the case in a schedule with a lot of big events, the top players need a breather every now and then. The Mexico Open at VidantaWorld provides a perfect opportunity for some of the non-household names to make a statement and get into some of the big events down the road.
A year ago just that happened when Jake Knapp broke through to win the Mexico Open. It was a great story for a guy who was a PGA Tour rookie to get that win, secure PGA Tour status for the next two seasons and notch a spot at the Masters in 2024. It's been a struggle for Knapp largely since that victory here, but he has played a lot more consistently in 2025 and is hopeful the good vibes can carry him to another strong showing in Mexico.
While last week there was nearly all of the top 50 players in the OWGR teeing it up, this week will only feature four players in the top 50. They are Aaron Rai (29), Akshay Bhatia (30), Rasmus Hojgaard (43) and Stephan Jaeger (50). Patrick Rodgers, Sam Stevens and Michael Kim are also in this field and that trio has played some really quality golf of late. There was a host of interesting sponsor exemptions including Blades Brown who turned professional earlier this year at age 17. The 2023 NCAA individual champion is also teeing it up this week in Fred Biondi, as well as 2025 Latin America Amateur champ Justin Hastings, 2024 U.S. Amateur champ Jose Luis Ballester Barrio and 2024 Latin American Amateur champ Santiago de la Fuente.
This will be the fourth year the Mexico Open has been recognized as a PGA Tour event. The first one in 2022 was won by Jon Rahm. The Spaniard finished runner-up in his title defense to Tony Finau in 2023 and then Knapp got things down a year ago over Sami Valimaki. Prior to being a PGA Tour event, the Mexico Open was on the PGA Tour's Latinoamerica Tour. The Mexico Open at VidantaWorld is one of two current PGA Tour events hosted in Mexico along with the World Wide Technology Championship in the fall at El Cardonal at Diamante.
The players who teed it up at Torrey Pines a week ago had to deal with a lot of chilly and rainy conditions early in the week. Safe to say that won't be a concern in Puerto Vallarta. Temperatures will reach into the mid-80s each of the four tournament rounds and we're not not expected to see any rain. The winds are projected to be fairly benign, but playing this close to the ocean you can never rule out some gusts.
Recent Champions
2024 - Jake Knapp (-19)
2023 - Tony Finau (-24)
2022 - Jon Rahm (-17)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
- Proximity 175-200/Proximity 200-225
- Par-3 Scoring
Champion's Profile
The first thing you notice about Vidanta Vallarta is the wide open feel it has. It's relatively flat with the fifth-widest fairways on Tour. It allows the longer players to free wheel it and swing away off the tee. It's probably not much of a coincidence that bombers like Rahm, Finau and Knapp won the first three editions since it became a PGA Tour event. Iron play is also extremely important here. Players are going to have a lot of long approaches into pretty large greens. The key is the be able to penetrate through the wind and give yourself good looks at birdies. I think some of the longer proximity buckets from 175-200 yards and 200-225 yards would be good places to look. Par-3 scoring also gets a bump with there being five of them on this course, which also just enhances in the importance of iron play. Paspalum grass blankets this property which is completely different than anything players have been on recently. It makes it a little harder to know how well the good putters of late will translate to this venue. Any sort of quality history at Vidanta or on other similar resort courses could play a factor.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Rasmus Hojgaard ($11,900)
Hojgaard burned me last week at Torrey Pines, but I'm going right back to him on a course that fits his game perfectly. The Dane is one of the longest drivers on Tour, and prior to that off week in San Diego had gained on approach in 14 straight events. I think on pure talent he is the best player in this field, and that makes him a strong OAD selection as well.
Sam Stevens ($11,600)
With a field as weak as this, you need someone near the top of your lineup you know will be there for all four days. Stevens has been a very consistent player, making the cut in 20 of his last 21 starts. He is another guy who can move it off the tee, and other than on off week in Scottsdale has been really strong on approach as well. Stevens has also gained strokes on the greens in five straight.
Kurt Kitayama ($11,400)
Kitayama is another ball-striking savant. He ranks 13th this season in SG: Off-the-Tee and has gained in that department in 19 of his last 20 measured starts. He also has gained at least 0.7 strokes per round on approach in seven of his last 10 tournaments. Kitayama is 19th in proximity from 175-200 yards and has not lost strokes around the greens in his last nine starts. He's only played at Vidanta once, but that was a T2 finish back in 2022.
The Middle Tier
Kevin Yu ($10,400)
If you want a guy who can pop in the ball-striking numbers any given week, Yu is the guy for the job. You'll have to live with some inconsistency with the putter, but when his swing is locked in it's fun to watch. Yu has gained strokes off the tee in eight of his last 10 starts and on approach in his last five. He ranks 11th in SG: Off-the-Tee and 22nd in GIR percentage this season. Yu went T16-T17 the last two weeks against strong fields.
Alex Smalley ($10,100)
Smalley has had a nice start to 2025 with three top-25s in four starts. After he struggled with the ball striking throughout most of last season, Smalley has found his swing again and sits seventh in SG: Tee-to-Green. He is a great long iron player who is also finding more confidence on the greens. Smalley missed the cut in his last two attempts at Vidanta, but was T6 back in 2022 when he was playing better golf.
Ryan Fox ($9,800)
This will be only the second PGA Tour start of the season for Fox, who continues to split time on the DP World Tour. Wherever he tees it up he has been a pretty consistent option, making the weekend in all but two of his last 20 starts. Fox should thrive at Vidanta as one of the longest hitters out there combined with an eighth-place finish in par-3 scoring a season ago. His short game has also taken big strides in the last several months.
The Long Shots
Jackson Suber ($8,600)
Well we've mentioned the importance of iron play at Vidanta so why not go with the player who is leading the Tour in SG: Approach so far in 2025. Suber has only been able to play three events this season, but one of those was a T6 at the Sony Open where his irons and putting were fantastic. Suber is also top-five in proximity from outside 200 yards and has abused the par-5s early in the season.
Karl Vilips ($8,300)
Possibly the biggest boom-or-bust play in the field, Vilips is one of the longest hitters out there and has already proven his ability to put up results. After winning the Pac-12 Championship last spring and shortly after turning professional, Vilips would finish T13-T15-2nd-Win-T24 in his first five starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. The kicker is that he has not played competitively since the Australian Open last December, but there's a lot of players in this field that have only been able to play sparingly of late as well. This is a pure upside play for those feeling frisky, but the payoff could be massive given Vilips' talent level.
Will Gordon ($7,900)
Gordon had by any measure a dreadful 2024 season, but things are starting to look up as he tries to reach the potential he showed earlier in his career. The 28-year-old made the cut in five of his last six starts, including a T7 at Torrey Pines. Gordon has the second fastest club head speed on Tour this season, and also ranks 27th in GIR percentage and 18th in proximity 175-200 yards. He finished T24 in his only start at Vidanta back in 2023.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
The Mexico Open at VidantaWorld probably feels like it's just been an absolute birdie-fest, but that's not really the case in reality. In each of the three editions since it became an official PGA Tour event, the 36-hole cut has been two-under-par, which really isn't anything far from the PGA Tour norm. We've had some players really get hot and take off, but all the lengthy approach shots and gusty winds often keeps some teeth in the course. You're going to have to take at least a couple shots somewhere in your lineup in this weak of a field, but if we can load the top of it with the best ball-strikers and guys we know will make the weekend, that's a good start. We're still so early in the season and the large majority of players in the $7K and $8K range have had very few opportunities for starts this season. There's a lot of bombers down there who deserve a look given the setup of this course. Aldrich Potgieter ($8,900), Kris Ventura ($8,800), Trey Mullinax ($8,600) and Vincent Norrman ($8,400) are a few others not mentioned who might be worth a look.
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