Maintaining the lead for more than a day has become an impossible mission this week at El Cardonal at Diamante, a course designed by Tiger Woods in Los Cabos, Mexico, where the World Wide Technology Championship is taking place. Nick Dunlap (-17) and Sami Valimaki (-19) shared the top spot after the first 18 holes; Matti Schmid (-18) took over at the end of the second round; and today it was Garrick Higgo (-22)‘s turn, who has signed the best card of his career on the PGA Tour.
The 26-year-old South African won the Corales Puntacana last April, so he has secured his card on the tour until 2027. Even so, he is making the most of the so-called FedEx Fall, the seven autumn calendar events in which he has a tied seventh place (at the Procore Championship), a second place (at the Sanderson Farms Championship), and a tied fourth (at the Baycurrent Classic). He has managed to move from the 99th position in the overall standings, where he finished before the final series in August, to the 57th he occupied at the start of the week.
Back-to-back bogeys followed by an ACE?!
No pictures on the scorecard for @AndrewPutnam1 😆
📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/BPvmr4iIpx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 8, 2025
Today he delivered a card of 61 strokes, with an eagle and nine birdies, without error, to climb 14 positions and take the solo lead in the tournament. A boost based on an outstanding first nine holes, starting with his eagle on the 1st and a series of five consecutive birdies between the 3rd and 7th. Breaking 60 strokes hovered at times during his round, especially after adding three more birdies from the 10th to the 14th, but finally, it was necessary to wait for the par-five 18th for the last of his round, which in any case serves to present his candidacy for victory.
His margin over his closest pursuer, Carson Young (-21), is just one stroke. And although he has two over Trevor Cone (-20), Chad Ramey (-20), and Ben Griffin (-20), and three, four, and five over the three previous leaders (Valimaki, Schmid, and Dunlap, respectively), the tournament is more than open for all of them if we consider the low scores that can be achieved this week at El Cardonal. Just 18 holes ahead to find out who succeeds Austin Eckroat (-8) in the tournament’s honours list, who takes a step forward to maintain playing rights, and who approaches the first two elevated events of 2026 (positions 51st to 60th of the FedEx).
