Garrick Higgo Secures Lead in Penultimate Round
Cabo San Lucas, BCS. The South African flag flies high at the World Wide Technology (WWT) Championship 2025, with only one round remaining.
Garrick Higgo, a 26-year-old native of Johannesburg, claimed the lead in the third round, played on Saturday, with a total of 22 strokes under par. This move propelled him up 14 positions from the previous day’s standing.
South Africa’s Connection to WWT Championship
South Africa has a special connection to the WWT Championship, as the 2023 champion was Erik van Rooyen. This marked the first time the tournament was held at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos.
Higgo’s Performance and Focus
With his distinct long hair, Higgo managed nine birdies and one eagle during Saturday’s play against the Pacific Ocean.
“My irons have been my weakness, so this week and throughout the year, I’ve focused on them. Obviously, missing a fairway here is difficult, so playing well with the irons and targeting accurately is the perfect recipe,” Higgo commented.
This season, Higgo has finished in the top 10 in three tournaments. In April, he won his second PGA Tour event in the Dominican Republic (Corales Puntacana Championship).
“In reality, I haven’t been working on anything new; I’ve just been doing the same thing. It’s great not to have any injuries and train normally. I believe many of the things I’ve done well this year are still going strong, but even better,” he added.
Podium Finishers
The podium in Los Cabos is completed by pure Americans: Carson Young finished second with 21 under par, and Trevor Cone, Chad Ramey, and Ben Griffin all tied at -20.
Following them are notable names like JJ Spaun, the current US Open champion, who finished 10th (-16), and Austin Eckroat, the current Los Cabos monarch, who will start Sunday at T60 (-8).
Mexican Golfers’ Performance
Two Mexican golfers managed to make the cut and secure play until Sunday: Emilio Gonzalez and Alejandro Madariaga. Gonzalez, hailing from Guanajuato, will participate in the PGA Tour with a card in 2026.
However, Madariaga finished with a better position in the penultimate round of Los Cabos. The Puebla native secured T47 with 9 strokes under par, while Gonzalez ended at T68 with 6 under par.
“I’m genuinely happy with my game today. It was a very positive day, stress-free, and I played well with the ball. I made a bogey on hole 18 that cost me, but it was just a bad chip. Apart from that, I played really well,” Madariaga said at the end of his round.
Regarding outperforming Emilio Gonzalez, Madariaga stated: “It doesn’t matter who has the spotlight; what matters is that we both play well and represent Mexico proudly.”
Final Round and Prize Money
The 19th champion of the WWT Championship will be decided on Sunday, marking the first PGA Tour event in Mexico and the first outside of the US or Canada since its inception in 2007.
Higgo will start as the leader, but there are no guarantees. The first-round leader was Nick Dunlap (currently 8th), and the second-round leader was Matti Schmid (7th).
The 2025 Los Cabos champion will receive $1,080,000 in prize money, which corresponds to 18% of the tournament’s total purse ($6,000,000).
Key Questions and Answers
- Who is leading the WWT Championship 2025? Garrick Higgo from South Africa is currently in the lead.
- Why is South Africa significant to the WWT Championship? Erik van Rooyen, a South African, won the championship in 2023, marking the first time it was held at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos.
- What is Higgo’s focus this week? He has been concentrating on improving his iron play, acknowledging it as a weakness.
- Who are the top performers besides Higgo? Carson Young, Trevor Cone, Chad Ramey, and Ben Griffin are tied for second place.
- Which Mexican golfers made the cut? Emilio Gonzalez and Alejandro Madariaga advanced to the final round.
- What prize money awaits the champion? The winner will receive $1,080,000 from the total purse of $6,000,000.
