Who made and who missed the cut at the 2026 VidantaWorld Mexico Open? - Golfweek
The VidantaWorld Mexico Open started with 120 players, one golfer WD'd along the way, and on Friday evening, another 51 were sent home. For them, it'll either be some down time along the Mexican coast near Puerto Vallarta. For others, maybe it's an early trip across the water to Cabo San Lucas for next week's PGA Tour stop.
With FedEx Cup points on the line through the fall series, the Mexico Open is a crucial event for many angling for a 2027 PGA Tour card. There will be 68 golfers advancing to chase those points.
At the top of the leaderboard is Andrew Novak, who shot a scorching 10-under 61. He came into the tournament ranked 158th in strokes gained: putting but the flatstick was working Friday. He was 5 under over his final six holes.
Three shots back sit five golfers at 11 under: Matthieu Pavon, amateur Kihei Akina, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Ben Griffin and Kensei Hirata.
Tied for 11th is Blades Brown at 9 under. Tied for 26th is Tom Kim and Brian Campbell, who were in the same group and who hit each other's golf balls out of a bunker on 18, which led to each of them getting a two-shot penalty.
It was a solid week for John Daly II. Little John opened Friday with a bogey on the 10th hole but made eagle at 13 and then had four birdies on his second nine at Nos. 1, 5, 7 and 8 to shoot 4-under 67 and make the cut by two shots.
Further down the leaderboard is a gaggle of golfers at 4 under, right on the number to make the cut, including Nick Hardy, the feel-good story this week. A last-minute add when two players on the alternate list didn't show up, Hardy was able to make his 15th Tour appearance of the season, enough to vest in the Tour’s retirement plan. Monday Q Info's Ryan French estimated that, based on Hardy's 67 career cuts and the plan's historical payout structure, the benefit could ultimately be worth roughly $400,000 or more. Then on Friday, he birdied his final hole, the par-4 ninth, to make the cut on the number.
Another great finish to hit the 4-under number was Cam Davis, who had two eagles over a three-hole stretch (Nos. 6 and 8) to shoot 67 and just slide into the weekend.
On the flip side, there were plenty notables who missed the cut, which again, came in at 4 under. Let's take a look at some of those key names:
Tosti has now missed the cut in seven of his last eight events and three of his last four since he had a caddie quit on his bag mid-round.
Finau is a past champion in this tournament but he let the weekend slip away with a bogey-par-bogey-par-par finish. He's now projected 122nd in the FedEx Cup Fall standings.
Clark was the highest-ranked player in the field but was without regular caddie Dave Pelekoudas, who was attending a wedding in Italy. So Clark's younger brother, Brendan, took over on bag duties. The arrangement carried extra significance because Brendan has a wedding of his own approaching. Clark hoped a successful week could help his brother cover some of the expenses but the duo came up shot by four shots after Clark shot 69-73.
Potgieter lost in a playoff in this event in 2025, which was played in February. This time out, the big South African shot 75-73 and finished 10 shots off the weekend. Only Camilo Villegas at 7 over had a worse week.
Golfweek's Adam Schupak contributed to this article.
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