Tulum, Quintana Roo — The Korn Ferry Tour launched its only Mexican stop of the season on Thursday with the Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya, where 156 players are competing for a $1 million purse and 500 points toward PGA TOUR qualification.
The four-day tournament, running through Sunday, marks the final regular-season event outside the United States for the developmental tour. The field includes 17 PGA TOUR winners who have collectively secured 27 victories, with Cameron Champ and Jim Herman leading that group with three titles each.
Gonzalo Pan de Soraluce, Global Golf Director for Piñero’s Real Estate & Golf division, said bringing high-level golf to the Mexican Caribbean aligns with their vision to establish world-class venues. “This tournament features future major championship competitors,” he stated. “Choosing Tulum to write that story speaks volumes about our caliber as a host destination.”
Organizers granted four sponsor exemptions to highlight emerging talent: Eugenio López-Chacarra (world No. 125), Alejandro Madariaga (2025 Bajío Open champion and first Mexican Professional Tour player to reach the PGA TOUR), 16-year-old Lunden Esterline (2025 Boys’ Junior PGA Championship winner with a record 19-under), and 19-year-old Spanish player Bruno Marques.
Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin noted the competitive field includes promising 18-year-old Blades Brown, Alistair Docherty (second in points after winning in Argentina), and recent tournament winners Jeremy Gandon and Davis Lamb. Nine Latin American players, including two Mexicans, are also competing.
French player Jeremy Gandon arrives in Tulum fresh off a victory at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, placing him third in the Points List. Mexican golfer Álvaro Ortiz, coming off a tie for 26th in that event, said, “It’s always a pleasure to return home and play on a course like this. Mexican golf has developed incredibly in recent years—we’re living a golden age of the sport.”
López-Chacarra expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity: “It’s a paradise. Hopefully this is the first of many.”
The PGA Riviera Maya course, designed by Robert Trent Jones II, is part of Tulum Country Club, a residential community recognized as Latin America’s Best Golf Real Estate Venue 2025 by the World Golf Awards. Players have praised the course conditions as superior to last year’s.
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