The American Nick Dunlap (-11) and the Finnish Sami Valimaki (-11) lead the birdie festival that the first round of the World Wide Technology Championship turned into this Thursday, the penultimate tournament of the PGA Tour season, which runs until Sunday at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico. It’s not easy to see 61-shot cards in a US circuit tournament, let alone two. But the course designed by Tiger Woods lent itself to this in the first round, where the vast majority played under par.
For both, this promising start in a privileged enclave of Baja California Sur is a first step towards their main goal of the week, which, more than winning, without dismissing the fight for the title if it becomes achievable, is to secure a good haul of points that will allow one to salvage a poor season after his two victories last year and the other to save his card. The one from Alabama has the distant goal of getting into the top 60 and thus securing the first two designated events of 2026. He is currently ranked 145th in the FedEx. The one from Pirkkala is in 103rd place and needs to reach the top 100 to maintain playing rights. It’s within reach, but he needs to add more.
Dunlap, flawless from the tee with a full set of fairways, accurate in recoveries, and very precise putting, signed nine birdies and an eagle, without error, for his 61-shot card. Meanwhile, Valimaki, with eleven birdies, didn’t miss a single green and holed putts of all kinds to make the most of his first 18 holes of the week in Mexico. But neither can afford to be complacent because their three-shot margin over Vince Whaley (-8), Kris Ventura (-8), Matti Schmid (-8), Chad Ramey (-8), and Andrew Putnam (-8), on a course that allows such low scores, can evaporate in the blink of an eye.
For Nick, this 2025 is the antithesis of what he experienced last year. He won the American Express as a sophomore in college. He decided to put his studies on hold to turn professional, taking advantage of the membership he earned with his title, and soon after won again at the Barracuda. But since January, he’s only achieved one top 10, at the Sony Open. However, he takes it philosophically… “Lately, golf has been very tough, and today was the complete opposite,” he said after his round.
“Golf can make you very, very hard on yourself, especially when you try hard, don’t get good results, have a couple of bad streaks… It seems that’s how it’s been for me lately, and today was a nice change of pace,” he added. “I’ll try not to take it personally and just come here to have as much fun as possible. We’re in a great place,” concluded the young American, who is trying to reconnect in this final stretch of the season.
Sami, for his part, has fond memories of Mexico, where he achieved a second place in the Mexico Open, which, to date, is his best result on the PGA Tour. Something he will try to emulate or improve this week in an event where the fight to enter or stay among the top 100 in the ranking is above any other battle.
The need is pressing so much, with the end of the season just around the corner, that of the top 50 in the FedEx present this week at El Cardonal, only Ben Griffin (-7) has managed to appear in the top 10 positions, where some historical names of the PGA Tour in low hours like Francesco Molinari (-7) or Matt Kuchar (-7) can also be seen. The Europeans Victor Perez (-7) and Thorbjorn Olesen (-7), with their cards at stake, have taken a first step to try to secure them. Meanwhile, for the defending champion, Austin Eckroat (+2), the first 18 holes have been a real ordeal. It’s not being his year…
