– The first round of the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld has left us with three leaders who have signed scorecards of 64 strokes at the Vidanta Vallarta course. They are the Englishman Harry Hall (-7), the Norwegian of Mexican descent Kris Ventura (-7), and the German Jeremy Paul (-7).
– Hall comes from missing the cut in Phoenix, but he is a regular in the upper echelons of the rankings in recent times. He should not be overlooked in his attempt, for example, to make it into the European Ryder Cup team. He is someone who is not on anyone’s radar, but at 27 years old, he continues to grow step by step.
– José Luis Ballester (-2) has as his first major goal this week to make the cut on Mexican soil, and today he has taken a step in the right direction, delivering a scorecard of 69 strokes. However, he will still have to work hard, not only to make it to the weekend, which is also important, but above all to gain positions and get closer to the top spots in a tournament where low scores abound every day.
– A poor start and a poor finish for the young Spanish amateur. He began his round on the 10th hole and did so in the most erratic way, hitting the ball into the water from the tee, although he then saved a good bogey. After a first third of the round that was certainly irregular (two bogeys, two birdies, and two pars in his first six holes), Ballester finally found solidity and managed to position himself on the verge of the tournament’s top ten with birdies on holes 18, 1, 2, and 7. However, once again, an erratic finish, with bogeys on holes 8 and 9, slightly dropped him back.
– Ballester hit the driver without hesitation from the tee, on a wide and open course that lends itself to it, and his was the longest drive of the day, over 370 yards. He also handled the greens well, but not so much in recoveries and certainly quite irregular with the irons and wedges in hand, although the final balance, with six birdies on the scorecard, cannot be bad in any case. Tomorrow, in the morning shift, he can and should consolidate the comeback and certify his first cut made as an amateur in a professional tournament.
– The Englishman Paul Waring (+6), one of the standout players in the final stretch of last season’s DP World Tour, has not started his American adventure well, nor, in general, the year 2025. He missed the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic, withdrew in Ras Al Khaimah after the first round, missed the cut in Phoenix in his first contact of the season with the PGA Tour, after securing playing rights through the European circuit, and today he signed a 77 in Mexico that really leaves him with one foot out of a cut that could go to -2 tomorrow, especially if the wind doesn’t blow too much in Puerto Vallarta.
