Jack Nicklaus may have been the first legendary figure to put Los Cabos on the golfing map when his layouts at Palmilla and Cabo del Sol opened to acclaim in the early 1990s. But Tiger Woods, the man still chasing Nicklaus’ record for all-time major championships, is the latest, and he’s done something locally that Nicklaus never did: bring a PGA tournament to Los Cabos.
The PGA World Wide Technology Championship (WWTC) returns to the Woods’ designed El Cardonal Course at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas from Nov. 7 to 10, with many of the world’s best golfers competing for a purse of US $7.2 million, plus points and exemptions for next season. To the winner go much of the spoils. Last year, South African golfer Erik van Rooyen won the first iteration of the tournament held in Cabo San Lucas with a scorching final round 63, pocketing $1.46 million in the process.
This year, the winner will not only score a significant cash prize but will earn a two-year PGA Tour exemption, 500 FedExCup points and entry into select 2025 tournaments like The Sentry and The Players Championship.
What to expect at the 2024 WWTC
Less noteworthy to U.S. viewers, but of interest to those in Mexico, is the qualification process that allows Mexican players to become eligible for play. In 2023, four Mexican golfers played in the WWTC: Isidro Benitez of Puebla; Roberto Díaz of Veracruz; Pachuca native José Cristóbal Islas; and Mexico City’s Sebastián Vázquez. The latter had the best finish, shooting 15 under to tie for 38th place. This year, four more will compete, including Benitez again.
Whatever the announced field, the course they’ll be playing on is the same world-class one as a year ago. El Cardonal was the first ever Tiger Woods-designed course to be completed. The 7,363-yard parkland-style layout premiered in Cabo San Lucas in 2014 and was intended to evoke the “Old California” courses Woods grew up playing. It’s perfect for tournament play, with a closing par-5 that almost guarantees dramatic finishes. Van Rooyen eagled the 537-yard 18th in the final round of the 2023 event, with those two strokes accounting for his margin of victory.
For the 2024 WWTC, players will arrive and register at El Cardonal by Monday, Nov. 4, with the course available for practice rounds on the 4 and 5 before the tournament tees off on Thursday, Nov. 7. However, tickets aren’t available for the practice rounds or the Pro-Am events on Nov. 6: only for WWTC tournament play.
How to get tickets for the 2024 WWTC
General admission tickets have been on sale since Aug. 1 and remain surprisingly affordable by Los Cabos standards: only US $35 per person for Rounds 1 and 2, with the price increasing to $40 and $45 for Rounds 3 and 4, respectively. Or you can buy a ticket for all four days for $139. Children under 15 get in free if accompanied by a ticket-holding adult, with a limit of two kids per parent.
That’s for an entry pass to watch the tournament and enjoy most concession areas. To access the upgraded VIP areas will require a more substantial outlay. Meanwhile, to enjoy hospitality privileges at Wood’s superb restaurant, The Woods Cabo, which commands views of the first and 18th holes… you might need to sell your car.
Where do you park if you still have a car? At a designated parking lot near Diamante with a free shuttle that continuously ferries fans to the course entrance and back. Another free shuttle leaves from downtown Cabo San Lucas, with discounted parking available.
For those not expecting to be in Los Cabos to attend the tournament, it’s still possible to watch it on television. The Golf Channel will provide coverage for U.S. and Canadian viewers, while those in Mexico can follow along via Golf Channel Latin America.
The history of competitive golf in Los Cabos
Nicklaus may not have brought a PGA Tournament to Los Cabos, but the “Golden Bear” has made incredible contributions to raise the area’s golfing profile. In addition to designing six world-class local courses , Nicklaus participated in two of the five Senior Slam events that took place in Los Cabos in the late 1990s and also played in the first of the two head-to-head stroke play events for Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf television series that were held in Los Cabos.
The first Wonderful World of Golf matchup in 1996 saw Nicklaus lose to Lee Trevino on a course he designed at Cabo del Sol’s Ocean Course.
The other Shell event featured two more major champions, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, competing at the then-new and still remarkable Tom Fazio-designed Querencia Golf Club in 2001.
The Shell show was a terrific showcase for the sport and the Senior Slam drew a host of legendary players since the event paired the previous year’s major winners on the PGA Senior Tour. However, it was not an official event on that tour. It took Woods to help attract an official PGA tournament to Los Cabos — although an assist should probably be given to Greg Norman, another former major champion with design history in Los Cabos.
How the WWTC ended up in Los Cabos
The WWTC tournament has been contested since 2007 and was the first PGA Tour event ever played in Mexico. The first 16 events were held at the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course on the Riviera Maya. However, when Norman became CEO of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour and announced a LIV Golf tournament would be scheduled at El Camaleón, the rival PGA decided to move the WWTC to another location.
Woods was influential in getting the tournament to Los Cabos, with the PGA ultimately inking a 5-year deal to have the WWTC hosted at Diamante, the luxury development on the Pacific Coast of Cabo San Lucas where Woods has designed two courses (El Cardonal and the 12-hole Oasis Short Course) and has another (The Legacy Club) on the way.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
