No Dirt Thursday: World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal
Welcome to No Dirt Thursday!
Each week we give you the quickest, cleanest briefing on the PGA TOUR stop: last three editions, a snap history, what the course asks, and a few “only-here” nuggets you can snack on.
This week we focus in on the golf course at Diamante Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: El Cardonal. This 7,452 yard, par 72 is the first completed course design by Tiger Woods. The Woods' premier captures the golf-lovers attention, featuring Pacific views, wide fairways, a swingy, downhill par-5 finisher that decides things fast. The best part, though, is he favors desert arroyos over rough.
Tournament purse: $6,000,000
Last three editions (before this year)
2024 | Austin Eckroat | –24 (264) | won by 1 | at El Cardonal | Read about it here.
2023 | Erik van Rooyen | –27 (261) | won by 2 after eagling 18 | at El Cardonal | Read about & watch it here.
2022 | Russell Henley | –23 (261) | won by 4 | at El Camaleón (Mayakoba)
Quick tournament history
Founded in 2007 as the Mayakoba Golf Classic, the tournament made history as the first PGA TOUR event played in Mexico (and the first staged outside the U.S. and Canada in the modern era). It began as an alternate-field stop opposite the WGC Match Play. World Wide Technology took over title sponsorship in 2021, and in 2023 the event moved to Los Cabos to be played at El Cardonal at Diamante making it the first PGA TOUR event ever held on a Tiger Woods/TGR Design course. Today, it’s billed as Mexico’s longest-running PGA TOUR tournament.
About the host: El Cardonal
Origins: Tiger Woods/TGR Design aimed for “old-style California” strategy that includes wide fairways and natural contours.
No. 1: downhill par 5 with ocean views right out of the gate.
No. 3: short/drivable par 4 that tempts big hitters over a guarding bunker.
No. 18: another downhill par 5 with 60+ feet of drop causing scores to range from 3 to 7 under pressure.
Surfaces & surrounds: Minimal traditional rough; miss too far and you’re in sandy/rocky arroyos. Cabo San Lucas sea-level air means the course plays all of its yardage.
Plays like: Driver-friendly sightlines, but approach precision and short-game creativity decide it. Clean grooves, no excuses.
Only-at-El Cardonal moments
Business Day
EVR’s walk-off eagle (2023): Erik van Rooyen rolled a 16-footer for eagle on 18 to win and gave us one of the year's most emotional (best) finishes.
Course record buzz (18-hole): in 2024, Carson Young set the mark to chase to 61.
Numbers to watch this week
7,452 | 72: Yardage & par for the TOUR setup.
4: The separation will be most noticeable on the four Par-5s.
3: Drivable chances/temptations, but most notably on number 3.
Here arroyos > rough. Wayward tee balls find desert landscape, not cabbage.
On Deck
Port Royal Golf Course
Next week: Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda.