To the critics who say the PGA Tour is too Americanized, you must not have watched Mexico’s national open, hosted at a resort just outside Puerto Vallarta over a four-day stretch that overlapped with National Margarita Day, which was on Saturday. Checkmate!

The Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, which henceforth shall be known as TPC Craig Ranchero, took up four days on the calendar this past week. The golf course asks a provocative question: “What if we hosted a professional golf tournament on a golf course that doesn’t ask any questions?” The 7,500-yard Greg Norman design is a ball speed demon’s sueño, with wide resort-friendly fairways and little trouble to dissuade players from launching tee shots with 460cc drivers directly into the Mexico sun.

Not sold yet? VidantaWorld is just a 20-minute drive from the Puerto Vallarta International Airport and features more than 40 restaurants, ranging from casual to fine dining. Based on the limited research I did, La Cantina seems like a solid, affordable option for fajitas. Not a bad way to unwind after spending an arduous day on the golf course competing for a $7 million purse and 500 FedEx Cup points.

Sources familiar with Jay Monahan’s thinking, or lack thereof, say venues like VidantaWorld are part of the Tour’s efforts to improve their members’ experiences at non-signature events. If they’re going to force the players to endure the injustice of a cutline, at least put a cantina and a pool nearby. It seems impossible for a player to get upset about a missed cut with a piña colada in hand. That is, until you remember that Charley Hoffman exists.

Onto the results, 31-year-old Brian Campbell outlasted 20-year-old speedster Aldrich Potgieter in one of the great pillow fights of our time. Both players shot final-round scores (70 and 71, respectively) worse than the field scoring average (69.66), yet nobody else near the lead made a serious charge up the board. Ultimately, Campbell escaped with the win on the second hole of a two-man playoff with Potgieter after hitting a drive a mile right into the trees and getting perhaps the luckiest bounce you’ll see all year. Winning on the PGA Tour is hard, and both Campbell and Potgieter acknowledged the nerves they felt as they struggled to the finish line. The nerves certainly showed, but Campbell got the job done and has now punched his ticket to the Masters, the rest of this season’s signature events, and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

Looking to the week ahead, Tony Finau, who opted out of VidantaWorld after playing in its first three editions, will tee it up for LAGC this evening on a one-day TGL contract. Maybe he didn’t think Vidanta Vallarta prepares golfers appropriately for The Spear. I beg to differ. Later in the week, Jordan Spieth is slated to compete at the Cognizant Classic alongside his non-signature event brethren after committing late on Friday evening. Now that’s more like it!

And lastly, there are still no material updates with respect to the impending deal between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour. The Tour hasn’t issued any additional statements since last Thursday’s meeting at the White House. So I wrote one for you in the voice of Jay Monahan, without the assistance of AI:

“We appreciate the patience and continued support of our sponsors, members, and most importantly, our fans. As I said last week, I’d like to once again thank President Trump for his continued support in initiating negotiations toward the reunification of the game. The Framework Agreement didn’t count and I haven’t tried once since then.

We continue to be excited about our engagement numbers this year, which are as strong as they’ve ever been. Fans are experiencing the game like never before, and I’m so proud that our Tour is the premier place to find that experience. In just over two weeks’ time, we’ll be hosting the second edition of the Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass. This offers fans the exclusive opportunity to engage with many of their favorite content creators, and it also offers playing opportunities for nine non-full-time golfers and PGA Tour member Wesley Bryan, who will compete once again after finishing runner-up in the tournament’s debut at East Lake last August. 

Thank you all for your continued support, and I look forward to bumbling into a microphone for 45 minutes in a few weeks at the PLAYERS.” 

How’d I do?

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.