El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas), Baja California Sur, Mexico.
This is a FedExCup Fall event (sixth of eight in the series). Round 1 tee times begin early morning local time (groups starting around 6:30–8:30 a.m. local / corresponding ET windows), with featured groups later. TV coverage is primarily on Golf Channel (typically 3–6 p.m. ET daily), with streaming available via Golf Channel platforms and PGA Tour digital options.
Purse and Points: $6 million total ($1.08 million to the winner). The winner earns 500 FedExCup points. It is a full-field event (approximately 120 players) with a 36-hole cut to the top 65 and ties.
Course Details and Conditions: El Cardonal at Diamante is a Tiger Woods design (opened 2014; first completed course by Woods/TGR Design, with Beau Welling involvement). It measures 7,452 yards, par 72 (10 par-4s, four par-5s, four par-3s). The layout sits in desert foothills with Pacific Ocean views, featuring wide fairways, sandy arroyos as primary hazards, large contoured greens (among the biggest on Tour, often averaging over 8,000 sq ft), and Paspalum surfaces throughout (fairways, greens, rough, tees). It plays firm and fast in the dry climate, with generous landing areas that encourage aggressive driving but demand accuracy around the arroyos and positioning for approaches. Wind is the main defense (often crosswinds on north-south holes). Scoring is typically very low—recent winners have finished between 24-under and 29-under. The course rewards strong iron play, scrambling, and putting on the large, undulating greens.
Weather Forecast: Expect warm, mostly sunny to partly cloudy conditions typical of Cabo in early November. Daytime highs are forecast in the mid-to-upper 70s to low 80s °F (around 24–31°C), with cooler nights in the upper 50s to low 60s °F. Light to moderate winds are expected (generally 5–15 mph, with possible gusts higher on some days, especially midweek), and low rain chances overall. Conditions should favor scoring, though any stronger crosswinds could firm up the challenge.
Tournament History: Originally launched in 2007 as the Mayakoba Golf Classic (first full-field PGA Tour event outside the U.S. and Canada, held at El Camaleón in Playa del Carmen). It has undergone several name changes (including OHL Classic at Mayakoba) before becoming the World Wide Technology Championship. It moved to El Cardonal at Diamante in 2023. Recent winners at the current venue: Ben Griffin (2025, tournament-record 259/−29), Austin Eckroat (2024, −24), and Erik van Rooyen (2023, −27). Earlier notable champions include Viktor Hovland (back-to-back in 2020–21 at the previous site), Matt Kuchar, Russell Henley, and others. Low scoring and birdie-fests are hallmarks.
Field, Key Players, Matchups, and Recent Form: The 120-player field mixes established Tour pros, FedExCup Fall contenders fighting for status/cards, and emerging talent. Top names include defending champion Ben Griffin (strong course history; recent T4 at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open; multiple wins in prior seasons and solid iron/putting form) and Ryan Gerard (highest-ranked in the field around world No. 23 / strong FedExCup position; consistent top-10s this season, including recent T4 at the Baycurrent Classic and strong Playoffs showing). Other notables: Rookie standout Jackson Koivun (Haskins Award winner, recent winner form), Ben James, Keith Mitchell, Blades Brown, Harry Hall, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Mackenzie Hughes, Michael Kim, Chris Kirk, Max Greyserman, Pierceson Coody, past champions like Austin Eckroat and Erik van Rooyen, plus veterans such as Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar, Billy Horschel, and Denny McCarthy. Many players arrive from the prior week’s Mexico Open, creating a continuity storyline (several top finishers from Vallarta are back). Key storylines/matchups center on Griffin defending his title and course record on a venue he dominates; Gerard as the form player and betting co-favorite seeking a breakthrough; young guns like Koivun and James challenging veterans; and status battles lower in the field as the FedExCup Fall winds down (top 100 secure full status, with other cutoffs for Signature Events). The no-star mega-field setup favors consistent scorers who handle wind and large greens.
Betting Trends: Markets reflect the low-scoring nature of the course (favoring birdie-makers and those with good recent form or course history) and the open field. Griffin’s ownership of the scoring record and recent Mexico form, combined with Gerard’s consistency, make them the primary focus, while rookies and mid-tier form players offer value in each-way or placement markets. Odds fluctuate with withdrawals and early practice reports.
This event offers a high-scoring, scenic finale to the Mexico swing in the FedExCup Fall, with significant implications for 2027 status. Expect aggressive play and low numbers under favorable conditions. For live leaderboards, pairings, and updates, check PGATour.com or official broadcasts, as action gets underway with Round 1.
