PGA Tour - 2026 World Wide Technology Championship: Course, Favorites, Prize Money

The PGA Tour's World Wide Technology Championship will be held November 5–8, 2026, at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The tournament is the sixth of eight FedExCup fall events. The winner will receive 500 FedExCup points and $1,080,000 out of a total purse of $6,000,000. Defending champion Ben Griffin set the tournament record in 2025 with a score of 259 (-29). The field consists of 120 players; after the second round, the top 65 and ties advance to the weekend.

Here you’ll find the tee times and live scoring for the 2026 PGA Tour World Wide Technology Championship.

Course Analysis of the PGA Tour World Wide Technology Championship

El Cardonal is a par-72 course with a total length of 6,814 meters on the Pacific coast of the Baja California Sur peninsula. Tiger Woods designed the course, which opened in 2014. It has hosted the tournament since 2023, and all playing surfaces are planted with Paspalum grass.

The layout includes four par-3s, ten par-4s, and four par-5s. The longest hole is No. 6 (par-5) at 550 meters, and the shortest is No. 16 (par-3) at 141 meters. Based on hole lengths, the par-5 14th (507 meters) and the short par-4 10th (315 meters) are particularly favorable for scoring. Key strategic points are the long par-4s—Hole 7 (447 meters) and Hole 8 (433 meters).

The fairways are wide, and there is hardly any Rough. According to a statistical analysis, players hit 88.7 percent of the Fairways last year—the highest rate on the tournament calendar. Missing the Fairway cost an average of 0.74 strokes over the last three tournaments. The winning scores at El Cardonal were -27 (2023), -24 (2024), and -29 (2025). The tournament record for a round is 61 strokes, shared by six players, including Sami Välimäki, Garrick Higgo, and Nick Dunlap in 2025.

The Favorites for the PGA Tour World Wide Technology Championship

The selection is based on world ranking, current form, and course history. The 2026 season statistics reflect the standings prior to the start of the tournament.

Ryan Gerard (world No. 23) is the highest-ranked player in the field. In 27 starts, he has recorded eight top-10 finishes with a scoring average of 69.89. In 2023, he missed the cut at El Cardonal; in 2024, he tied for 14th at -15. Ben Griffin (world No. 25) is the defending champion. In 26 starts in 2026, he recorded five top-10 finishes with a scoring average of 70.19. Most recently, he finished fourth at the Vidanta World Mexico Open the previous week, so he arrives in good form.

Jackson Koivun (world No. 59) won the 3M Open in July 2026 and was a member of the victorious Presidents Cup team. In nine tournaments in 2026, he made the cut eight times. His total Strokes Gained of +1.285 is the highest among the players listed here. Blade Brown (world No. 95) has recorded five top-20 finishes in his last six starts. According to PGA Tour analysis, he gained strokes over the field on approach shots in twelve consecutive starts.

Keith Mitchell (world No. 60) recorded four top-10 finishes in 24 starts in 2026. At the World Wide Technology Championship, he tied for 38th in 2023 and tied for 63rd in 2025. Harry Hall (world No. 73) recorded four top-10 finishes and a scoring average of 70.49 in 25 starts in 2026. In 2024, he tied for 14th at El Cardonal with a score of -15.

Marco Penge (world ranking No. 54) represents the European contingent in the field. In his rookie season in 2026, he achieved two top-10 finishes in 19 starts; his average drive is around 296 meters. He has yet to post any results at El Cardonal.

Defending champion Ben Griffin and the tournament’s history

Griffin won in 2025 with rounds of 65, 65, 66, and 63 strokes. Prior to that, Erik van Rooyen won at El Cardonal in 2023 with a score of -27, and Austin Eckroat won in 2024 with a score of -24. Previous winners of the tournament include Viktor Hovland (2021) and Russell Henley (2022). According to betting analysts, Garrick Higgo, Sami Välimäki, and Matt Kuchar are among the players with the best track records at this course.

Prize Money, Points, and Sporting Significance

The winner’s share of $1,080,000 represents 18 percent of the total prize money. In addition to 500 FedExCup points, the winner receives a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour as well as invitations to The Players, The Sentry, and the majors, which invite PGA Tour tournament winners.

Storylines and Outlook

The main storylines are Ben Griffin’s title defense and the role of the highest-ranked player, Ryan Gerard. For Nick Taylor (FedExCup rank 73) and Jackson Koivun (rank 69), the goal is to crack the top 60 in the FedExCup fall standings, which secures starting spots in the first two Signature Events of 2027, featuring prize money totaling more than $20 million. The field also includes amateurs Preston Stout, Jay Leng, and Nathan Tseng, as well as three Mexican pros: Alvaro Ortiz, Alejandro Madariaga, and Jorge Villar.

The forecast calls for winds of 16 to 32 km/h on Thursday and Friday, and 8 to 16 km/h over the weekend. Daily highs will range from about 28 to 29 degrees, with lows around 23 degrees. The chance of rain on all four days is between 2 and 7 percent. Next week, the Austin Championship will be the next PGA Tour event in the U.S.