Inside the Field: Who is playing the Bupa Championship presented by Volvo?
TULUM, Mexico—PGA TOUR Latinoamérica is headed to PGA Riviera Maya for its season-ending Bupa Championship presented by Volvo, which is set to start Thursday. The closing tournament of the 2020-21 season will feature a field of 132 players from 24 countries. Most of the field, 119 players, secured their tournament spots through their positions on the season-long Points List. Ten earned their playing opportunities in the open qualifier played last Wednesday in Weston, Florida, while four other players received sponsor exemptions.
Ranked No. 1 and holding a 167-point lead is Brandon Matthews of Dupont, Pennsylvania. The only two-time champion this season, Matthews will be joined by the other five 2020-21 tournament winners: Conner Godsey, Sam Stevens, Alvaro Ortiz, MJ Maguire and Alex Rocha.
With 2020-21 season highlights by the players inside the Points List top-50, the following is a look at the entire field:
Points List Top-50 (49 players committed)
No. 1 Brandon Matthews, U.S.—In addition to being the top ranked player, the 26-year-old Temple University alum arrives as the only two-time winner this season. Matthews claimed the 2020 Puerto Plata Open and the 2021 Club at Weston Hills Open.
No. 2 Conner Godsey, U.S.—Coming off a playoff victory at the 2021 Banco del Pacífico Open in Quito, Ecuador, last month, Godsey leads the Tour with a scoring average of 68.29 and is tied for the most top-10 finishes (four).
No. 3 Sam Stevens, U.S.—He followed a runner-up finish at the 2021 Club at Weston Hills Open with a victory last month at the Holcim Colombia Classic presented by Volvo.
No. 4 Alvaro Ortiz, Mexico—The winner of the 61st playing of the Mexico Open last March in Mazatlan, Mexico, Ortiz was also the runner-up at the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open.
No. 5 MJ Maguire, U.S.—He won the 2020 Shell Open last December in Doral, Florida. Maguire has recorded the most birdies this season (138) and is one of only two players who has made the cut in all seven tournaments this season.
No. 6 Alexandre Rocha, Brazil—Rocha won the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open in March 2020 and is coming of a tie for third at the 2021 Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 7 Drew Nesbitt, Canada—He was runner-up at both the 2021 Mexico Open and the 2021 Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 8 Jacob Bergeron, U.S.—Bergeron has recorded two top-threes, finishing solo second at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open and tying for third at the 2021 Banco del Pacífico Open.
No. 9 Leandro Marelli, Argentina—He has recorded four top-10 finishes, joining Conner Godsey for the most top-10s this season. He is also tied for first in Total Eagles (eight) and is one of only two players to record a double eagle this season.
No. 10 Andrés Gallegos, Argentina—Gallegos finished solo second at the 2020 Shell Open last December.
No. 11 Rowin Caron, Netherlands—He opened the season with a tie for third at the 2020 Estrella del Mar Open and matched that result at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic.
No. 12 Raul Pereda, Mexico—He has a trio of top-10 finishes, with a tie for third his best performance, at the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open.
No. 13 Tano Goya, Argentina—His best of three top-10 finishes is a tie for fifth at the 2021 Banco del Pacifico Open in Ecuador. Goya is one of only two players who has made the cut in all seven tournaments this season.
No. 14 Patrick Newcomb, U.S.—Newcomb has recorded two top-10s, a tie for third at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Open and a tie for fifth at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open.
No. 15 Paul Imondi, U.S.—The Californian finished solo second at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic for his only top-25 this season.
No. 16 Brad Schneider, U.S.—He has recorded five top-25s, including a tie for fourth at the 2020 Shell Open.
No. 17 Alejandro Tosti, Argentina—The former University of Florida golfer had a strong start to the season, finishing solo fifth at the 2020 Estrella del Mar Open and tying for fifth at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open. His other top-10 was a tie for ninth at the 2021 Mexico Open.
No. 18 Brendon Doyle, U.S.—Doyle tied for third at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open for his lone top-10 of the season. His next-best finish was a tie for 13th at the 2021 Club at Weston Hills Open.
No. 19 Rodolfo Cazaubón, Mexico—The 2015 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Player of the Year honors has recorded three top-10s this season, including a tie for eighth at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic as his best finish.
No. 20 Ben Cook, U.S.—Cook has finished inside the top 25 in all three of his starts, with a tie for fourth at the 2021 Mexico Open his best finish. A PGA professional, Cook claimed low-club professional-honors by tying for 44th at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
No. 21 Chris Wiatr, U.S.—His lone top-10 was a solo third finish at the 2020 Shell Open.
No. 22 Jorge Fernández Valdés, Argentina—The best of his two top-25 finishes was a solo third at the 2021 Mexico Open, an event he led through 54 holes last March in Mazatlan.
No. 23 Juan José Guerra, Dominican Republic—His best of three top-10 finishes was a tie for seventh at the 2020 Estrella del Mar Open in Mazatlan, Mexico.
No. 24 Joseph Winslow, U.S.—He recorded his best of three top-25s with a tie for fifth at the 2021 Banco del Pacífico Open in Ecuador.
No. 25 Tommy Cocha, Argentina—A solo-eighth at the 2021 Mexico Open was his best of four top-25s.
No. 26 Camilo Aguado, Colombia—His best of three top-25 finishes was a tie for 10th at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open.
No. 27 Jeremy Gandon, France—A tie for 11th at the 2021 Banco del Pacifico Open was his best of three top-25 finishes.
No. 28 Piri Borja, U.S.—His best performance was a tie for 15th at the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open in Mazatlan. Recorded two other top-25s.
No. 29 Toni Hakula, Finland—The Texas resident has recorded three top-25s, including a tie for ninth at the 2021 Mexico Open and a tie for 12th at the 2020 Shell Open.
No. 30 Josh Lee, U.S.—His lone top-10 was a tie for fourth at the 2020 Shell Open.
No. 31 Juan Carlos Benítez, Mexico—His best of three top-25s was a tie for fifth at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic last month in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
No. 32 Garrett May, U.S.—Both of his two top-10 finishes came in his last two starts, tying for fifth at the Holcim Colombia Classic and tying for eighth at the Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 34 Nicolo Galletti, U.S.—Recorded top-10s in two of his last three starts, tying for seventh at The Club at Weston Hills Open and tying for eighth at the Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 35 Alex Weiss, U.S.—He has missed only one cut in seven starts, recording his best finishes in his last two events—a tie for eighth at the Holcim Colombia Classic and a tie for 13th at the Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 36 Mitchell Meissner, U.S.—He claimed his best finish of the season in his last start, tying for eighth at the 2021 Banco del Pacifico Open in Ecuador. His other top-25 was a tie for 11th at the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open.
No. 37 José Toledo, Guatemala—He has recorded three top-25s, including season-best ties for 18th in his last two starts, at the Holcim Colombia Classic and the Banco del Pacifico Open. Toledo has also won three of the last four co-sanctioned Mexican Tour and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Dev Series events.
No. 38 Hunter Richardson, U.S.—He finished inside the top 10 in two of his last four starts, tying for eighth at the Holcim Colombia Classic and tying for ninth at the Mexico Open.
No. 39 Matt Gilchrest, U.S.—His best of three top-25s was a tie for 11th at the season-opening Estrella del Mar Open in Mazatlan, Mexico.
No. 40 Scott Wolfes, U.S.—He has made five consecutive cuts, with a tie for 10th at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open his best finish.
No. 41 Rafael Echenique, Argentina—He has ended inside the top 25 in all three of his made cuts, including a season-best tie for 11th at the Banco del Pacifico Open.
No. 42 Ryan Baca, U.S.—He tied for eighth at the 2020 Shell Open for his lone top-10 of the season.
No. 43 Cristóbal Del Solar, Chile—Del Solar tied for ninth at the 2020 Estrella del Mar Open, for his only top-25 of the season.
No. 44 Juan Pablo Luna, Colombia—His best of two top-25s was a tie for 13th last month at the Banco del Pacifico Open in Ecuador. He holds the record for the most PGA TOUR Latinoamérica career starts, with 113.
No. 45 Rafael Becker, Brazil—Becker has finished inside the top 25 twice, with a tie for 12th at the 2020 Shell Open his best.
No. 46 Aaron Terrazas, Mexico—He has made the cut in five of seven starts, with a tie for 17th at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open his best of two top-25 outings.
No. 47 Manav Shah, U.S.—Shah recorded two top-25s, tying for 17th at the 2020 Puerto Plata Open and tying for 18th at the Holcim Colombia Classic.
No. 48 Thomas Walsh, U.S.—He claimed his lone top-10 last month, with a tie for eight at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic.
No. 49 Rodrigo Lee, Brazil—Lee fired a final-round 63 to tie for fourth at the 2021 Mexico Open. He made his PGA TOUR debut by Monday Qualifying for the 2021 John Deere Classic a couple of weeks ago (missed the cut).
No. 50 Linus Lilliedahl, Sweden—He has made the cut in four of his last five starts, including his lone top-25, at the 2021 Holcim Colombia Classic, where he tied for 16th.
Points List, Ranked 51st through 173rd (69 players)
No. 51 Myles Creighton, Canada
No. 52 Trevor Sluman, U.S.
No. 53 Andreas Halvorsen, Norway
No. 54 Santiago Gómez, Colombia
No. 55 Graysen Huff, U.S.
No. 57 Michael Perras, U.S.
No. 58 Anthony Paolucci, U.S.
No. 60 A.J. Crouch, U.S.
No. 61 Luke Kwon, South Korea
No. 62 Emilio González, Mexico
No. 63 Andy Spencer, U.S.
No. 64 Jordan Gumberg, U.S.
No. 65 Hugo Bernard, Canada
No. 66 Kyler Tate, U.S.
No. 67 Cyril Bouniol, France
No. 68 Josh Radcliff, U.S.
No. 69 Roland Massimino, U.S.
No. 70 Joaquín Lolas, Peru
No. 73 Isidro Benítez, Mexico
No. 74 J.D. Hughes, U.S.
No. 75 Jake Marriott, U.S.
No. 78 Iván Camilo Ramírez, Colombia
No. 79 Jaime López Rivarola, Argentina
No. 81 Gonzalo Rubio, Mexico
No. 82 Michael Kartrude, U.S.
No. 85 Matías Simaski, Argentina
No. 90 Dalan Refiouglu, U.S.
No. 92 Barrett Kelpin, U.S.
No. 93 Sulman Raza, U.S.
No. 94 Willy Pumarol, Dominican Republic
No. 96 Joey Lane, U.S.
No. 98 Derek Gillespie, Canada
No. 99 Puma Domínguez, Argentina
No. 100 Matt Hutchins, U.S.
No. 101 Domenico Geminiani, Italy
No. 106 Joshua Rackley, U.S.
No. 107 Neil Gannaway, U.S.
No. 109 Spencer Mellon, U.S.
No. 110 Franck Medale, France
No. 110 Sean Busch, U.S.
No. 112 Fernando López Butrón, Mexico
No. 113 Danny List, Australia
No. 114 Chris Nido, Puerto Rico
No. 117 Luis Fernando Barco, Peru
No. 118 Mookie DeMoss, U.S.
No. 120 Tyler Torano, U.S.
No. 123 Alistair Docherty, U.S.
No. 124 Andrew Alligood, U.S.
No. 125 Jacob Loya, U.S.
No. 126 Luis Gerardo Garza, Mexico
No. 126 Marcos Montenegro, Argentina
No. 129 Chris Korte, U.S.
No. 133 Taylor Funk, U.S.
No. 133 Ryan Linton, U.S.
No. 135 Danny Walker, U.S.
No. 138 Jack Sparrow, U.S.
No. 140 Brian Hughes, U.S.
No. 142 Domenic Mancinelli, U.S.
No. 150 Elliott Grayson, U.S.
No. 157 Casey Komline, U.S.
No. 157 Juan Cerda, Chile
No. 157 Alan Wagner, Argentina
No. 161 José Luis Montano, Bolivia
No. 162 Matías Lezcano, Argentina
No. 164 Oscar Fraustro, Mexico
No. 165 Sebastian Szirmak, Canada
No. 168 Garland Smith, U.S.
No. 171 Keith Green, U.S.
No. 173 Callum McNeill, Scotland
Open Qualifier (10 players)
Texas Harper, Mexico
Ethan Cairns, U.S.
Ethan Marcus, U.S.
Erik Flores, U.S.
a-Sam Ohno, U.S.
Chase Jones, U.S.
Chris Johnson, U.S.
a-Trystan Perkins, England
Siyan Liu, China
Cole Madey, U.S.
Sponsor Exemptions (4 players)
Mario Bedia, Spain
Pablo Rincón, Mexico
Jorge Villar, Mexico
Juan Carlos Moreno, Mexico