The Mexico Open at Vidanta has been played at Vidanta Vallarta for the last two seasons and a few players have seen more success than others.
Take defending champion Tony Finau for example. Before he beat Jon Rahm by three shots last year, he finished in a tie for second in 2022.
This year’s field is on the weaker side, but that’s easy to understand if you take a look at the PGA Tour schedule. After this week, the Tour heads to the Sunshine State for the Florida Swing, a stretch that includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players, both of which are signature events.
To get you ready for this week, here are 10 of the best players at the Mexico Open over the last two years.
SILVIS, Ill. – What happens when six PGA Tour players stay in a house together for a tournament week? Cards are played, bets are made, trash is talked and at the end of the week, one player wins the tournament.
At least that’s how it went at last year’s John Deere Classic. J.T. Poston passed on the hotel and stayed in a large house with Patton Kizzire, Greyson Sigg, Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd and Ben Kohles, and the majority of the gang are running it back this year at the 2023 John Deere Classic.
“Yes, we have the same house,” said Poston ahead of his title defense. Kizzire, Sigg and McCarthy are back for more action in the PGA Tour fraternity house, with the additions of Chris Kirk and Sepp Straka to replace Todd and Kohles. “A lot of us were in the house last year, and so we jumped on it and got the same one again. A lot of cards and having fun back at the house after the rounds.”
Although all six are competing against one another, the house creates a similar vibe similar to college golf. Even though they’re not on the same team, there’s something to be said for coming home and sharing stories of the round and pulling for your friends. Three of the six players went to the University of Georgia, and four of the six reside in the Peach State, with three calling Sea Island home.
“A handful of us will stay together all the time in Airbnb’s. Rarely do we get one that’s big enough for all of us to hop in and where all of us are playing the same week, so this is kind of unique in that sense where it’s a lot of fun,” explained Poston. “We do that a lot. I mean, the hotels can get old pretty fast, so try to mix it up with some Airbnb’s and house rentals.”
There’s a scorecard for the card games, and of course some cash is exchanging hands, but money isn’t the goal for the games.
“We have some fun with it. It’s more bragging rights with that crowd because we play and hang out all the time, so it’s more just trying to beat your buddy than it is seeing how much money you can win,” said Poston, who noted that Kizzire has the early lead one night in.
Speaking of money, after earning his second PGA Tour victory, Poston picked up the bill for the house much to the joy of his housemates for the week, and he’s hoping to do so once again this year.
Here’s a quick review of the four aces south of the border, which meant cervezas for everybody.
If you thought 4 Aces was just the name of Dustin Johnson’s juggernaut of a team in LIV Golf, you’d be wrong. There were four aces this week at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, too.
The last time there were four holes-in-one in a single PGA Tour event? That would be at the 2019 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. What is it about the par-3s at El Camaleon Golf Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico, that serves up aces and opens the bars?
Here’s a quick review of the four aces south of the border, which meant cervezas for everybody.
Greyson Sigg had a unique first ace on the PGA Tour experience Saturday at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Sigg, who struggled out of the gate with two bogeys on his first two holes on day three at El Cameleon Golf Course at Mayakoba, made birdie on three of his last six holes on the front nine to turn with a 1-under 35.
On the 200-yard par-3 10th, Sigg stepped to the tee having no idea what was about to happen.
And after the ball went in the hole, he still had no idea what happened. Neither did his caddie. Neither did his playing partner.
The 2021 Visit Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour concluded with Greyson Sigg earning his first victory.
The 2021 Visit Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour concluded with Greyson Sigg earning his first victory.
The tournament was played at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville.
Sigg (-20) won by one stroke over Stephan Jaeger (-19).
The Visit Knoxville Open event has been played annually since 1990 and is one of four original Korn Ferry Tour events still played. The Visit Knoxville Open was not played in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Former University of Tennessee golfer Rick Lamb finished tied for 22nd (-9).
Lamb, a native of South Bend, Indiana, began his collegiate career at Santa Clara University before transferring to play for the Volunteers.
He played high school golf at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Greyson Sigg, who opened with a 61 on Thursday, fired a final-round 66 to earn his first professional win.
Stephan Jaeger will have to wait at least another week to try to earn that PGA Tour promotion as Greyson Sigg had other plans.
On Sunday, at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open, Jaeger opened the final round with a three-shot lead over Sigg and then birdied his first hole. A win would’ve been Jaeger’s third on the circuit, and that would’ve earned him his Tour card. The last player to earn his PGA Tour card via the three-win promotion was Wesley Bryan in 2016. In all, 11 players have done so.
If Jaeger is to be the 12th, it will come at a later date.
Sigg, who opened the week with a 61, fired a final-round 66 and snagged the victory at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee, the first professional win for the 26-year-old University of Georgia product. His previous best finish was a solo second in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August.
Sigg is one of 12 players featured in the CBS show called “One Shot Away,” which is produced by PGA Tour Entertainment. It tracks players chasing after a PGA Tour card during the 2021 portion of the combined Korn Ferry Tour season. KFT players who finish in the top 25 at the end of the season also earn a promotion to the PGA Tour.
Greyson Sigg plays his shot from the 10th tee during the Final Round of the Visit Knoxville Open at Holston Hills Country Club on May 16, 2021 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Jaeger was also looking to tie Jason Gore’s record for most wins—with seven—on the circuit but managed an even-par round of 70 as he closed with a bogey on the 17th hole and a par on the par-5 finishing hole.
Seth Reeves shot a 61, matching Sigg’s first-round fireworks. Reeves had 10 birdies and a bogey in his final round round to finish solo third at 17 under. Max Greyserman and Harrison Endycott finished tied for fourth a 16 under.
The Korn Ferry Tour next travels to Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City for the AdventHealth Championship.
Greyson Sigg opened with a 9-under 61 on the par-70 Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Greyson Sigg, who moonlights on a reality TV show, opened with a bogey-free, 9-under 61 on Thursday in the Visit Knoxville Open at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Sigg leads by two over Kyle Reifers and by three over Troy Mullinax and Stephan Jaeger. Sigg had nine birdies on the par-70 course. He had three in a row on Nos. 4, 5 and 6 and then closed with three birdies on his last four holes.
The 26-year-old University of Georgia graduate is seeking his first professional win. His best finish was a solo second in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August.
Sigg is one of 12 players featured in the CBS show called “One Shot Away,” which is produced by PGA Tour Entertainment. The six-episode Season 2 tracks players chasing after a PGA Tour card during the 2021 portion of the combined Korn Ferry Tour season.
Sigg contracted COVID-19 in 2020 but the virus had its largest impact on him it when it delayed his claim to a Tour card. When the tours had to take a hiatus for three months last year, the PGA Tour announced in April that the Korn Ferry Tour wouldn’t have its annual graduation of the top 25 players on its money list.
Sigg was in the top-10 of the developmental tour’s list and well on his way to Tour membership, but the Augusta, Georgia, native is still seeking to fulfill his lifelong dream.
Ryne Dennis of the Athens Banner-Herald contributed to this article.
He sat on the hotel balcony, kicked his feet up, looked out at the ocean and settled in for an hour of media interviews. Didn’t happen.
Former University of Georgia golfer Greyson Sigg has a happy-go-lucky demeanor that he carries wherever life takes him.
Like last Tuesday, two days before playing in the Puerto Rico Open, the third career PGA Tour event of his career.
Sigg sat on the balcony of his hotel, kicked his feet up on the rail, looked out at the ocean and settled in for an hour of media interviews.
His first appearance on SiriusXMs PGA Tour Radio was canceled because of breaking news of Tiger Woods’ car accident that severely injured the 15-time major champion. The station apologized, and Sigg understood.
“I mean, it’s the greatest golfer of all time, of course, nobody wants to hear from me about playing in Puerto Rico,” said Sigg, poking fun at himself while understanding the gravity of the situation.
Or during his four-year career at the University of Georgia while playing golf for Chris Haack.
Greyson Sigg eyes a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance at Victoria National Golf Course in Newburgh, Ind., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020.
The 26-year UGA coach knew Sigg’s personality better than anyone as Sigg has been around the Haack household often during a nine-year relationship with Haack’s daughter, Katie.
But Sigg’s carefree disposition allowed their coach-player relationship to blossom and earn him All-SEC honors his senior season.
“He’s got a really laid back personality and he just tries not to put a whole lot of emphasis on things and make them more important than they really are,” Haack said. “Don’t make it more important than it is, it’s just golf. He’s always going to embrace that and is very laid back. He just kind of rolls with the punches better than anybody.”
Sigg has played some of the best golf of his life on the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s breeding ground for golfers vying to reach the sport’s top level. But adversity hasn’t escaped the easygoing 25-year-old.
Sigg contracted COVID-19 last October and was forced to quarantine for 14 days. Fortunately, his only symptoms were a loss of taste and smell.
Where the virus had its largest impact on the Sea Island resident was delaying his claim to a PGA Tour card. When the tours had to take a hiatus for three months last year, the PGA Tour announced in April that the Korn Ferry Tour wouldn’t have its annual graduation of the top 25 players on its money list.
Sigg was in the top-10 of the developmental tour’s list and well on his way to Tour membership, but the Augusta native will have to wait until later this to fulfill his lifelong dream of reaching the PGA.
Former UGA golfer Greyson Sigg tees off during a tournament in 2014. (Photo/Steven Colquitt, UGA Sports Communications)
Like most things in his life, Sigg took it in stride.
“There were a lot of people who called me to tell me how sorry they were,” said Sigg, who is sixth in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings and eighth on its money list. “But, you know, it was such a weird time and we’re out here playing golf for a living. So, I wasn’t too upset.”
Due to the coronavirus interference, the PGA Tour made an exception for players inside the top 10 of the Korn Ferry Tour points standings when the 2020 season ended.
Top-10 players like Sigg and Will Zalatoris, who finished sixth in last year’s U.S. Open, are eligible to play in “additional events” like the Puerto Rico Open, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship that are played opposite of bigger events such as last week’s WGC Workday Championship.
Sigg missed the cut of the Puerto Rico Open but it doesn’t affect his status on the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s still on the path to earn his Tour card.
“I definitely always dreamt of being on the PGA Tour and it was easy to like pro golf and being able to go to the Masters every year and seeing that and made it my dream to play in a Masters one day,” Sigg said. “I’ve got a long way to go, don’t get me wrong, but it’s pretty cool how I’ve managed it so far and I’ve come a long way in the past couple years.”
Sigg says he’ll target around 15 of the final 20 events in the Korn Ferry Tour season. An average showing should secure his PGA Tour card.
If it happens, Sigg said, it will accomplish a goal he set out for in high school.
But he’s not going to sweat it too seriously.
“Obviously, I would have liked to get my card but I’m still in a really good position to get my card for the 2022 season,” he said. “That’s going to be fun this year. It’s going to be a pretty stress-free year because I’m pretty close to locking it up. I’m in a good spot, I’m not really going to get too upset about it.”
Former Stanford golfer Brandon Wu won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship Sunday at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
Brandon Wu is a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The 23-year-old won his first Korn Ferry Tour title Sunday at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He finished one shot ahead of Greyson Sigg.
Wu, who was coming off a T-58 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 in the final round to take the title at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
Wu said that throughout Sunday’s final round, he knew he was playing well but tried to stick to his game plan and stayed in the moment. He didn’t even know he was leading until his second shot on 18 when he asked his caddie.
“It’s almost surreal,” Wu said. “I mean I think over a month and a half ago and I was still playing Monday qualifiers and just hoping to get kind of a schedule going and I think standing here 6, 7 weeks later being a winner of the (Korn Ferry) Tour Championship is just an awesome feeling and quite surreal.”
Wu, who earned a spot in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot with his win, carded rounds of 67-69-69-65 to finish the event at 18-under 270.
Before Sunday’s win, Wu’s best finish was T-2 at the Albertsons Boise Open in August. Wu has competed in six tournaments, recorded three top 10s and made five cuts. He also finished T-9 at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in July.
Wu competed in five PGA Tour events this season including the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in which he finished T-38 at 2 under and the 2019 Houston Open where he finished T-17 at 8 under. The former Stanford Cardinal also competed in two PGA Tour majors last season. He qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, finishing T-35 at 1 over, and the 2019 British Open, where he missed the cut.
Sigg was 3 under on the day at Victoria National until a double-bogey on the par-4 14th derailed his round. He finished the day with a 1-under 71. Vince India, Seth Reeves and Dan McCarthy finished T-3 at 16 under.
