The Five: Meet five Mexican players in field at World Wide Technology Championship

The PGA TOUR makes its next international stop of the 2024 FedExCup Fall, heading south of the border to the World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas.

Five Mexicans will be in the field, though only one is a PGA TOUR member. That sets the stage for a possibly historic underdog story. Ahead of first-round play, here’s a look at some home-country players that could make an impact.

Raúl Pereda

Hometown: Córdoba, Mexico

It’s not been the season Pereda imagined, but there’s reason to believe the PGA TOUR rookie could be turning a corner.

After earning his card through PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry in 2023, Pereda has made just three cuts on TOUR all year. Heading into this week’s World Wide Technology Championship, Pereda ranked 209th in the FedExCup Fall standings.

In an effort to stay sharp while the TOUR was in Japan for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, which he didn’t qualify for, Pereda teed it up and won the Bajio Open, an event on the Mexican Tour. He beat Brazilian Alexandre Rocha in a playoff.

“The truth is that it has been a bit of a heart-wrenching year, and this fills me with great satisfaction for what is coming in the season,” Pereda said after the win. “This week I set myself the goal of staying focused and that's what happened. I made some very good shots, although yesterday wasn't the best day for hitting the ball. Today I was able to create opportunities and things worked out. This gives me a lot of confidence for the last three tournaments of the year and to fight for my card, which is something I still long for.”

Could he make it 2-for-2 in his home country? He’s in need of a major boost if he hopes to avoid Q-School again. The Jacksonville University alum has the added benefit of his collegiate home course – TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course – as the Final Stage site, but he’d prefer to avoid it.

Santiago de la Fuente

Hometown: Jalisco, Mexico

De la Fuente finished T46 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in March and missed the cut at the 3M Open, but he’s spent much of the year far from PGA TOUR golf. He was still getting his degree, rounding out a standout career at the University of Houston. The start at TPC Twin Cities was his first as a pro.

De la Fuente, 22, graduated this spring and finished 23rd in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2024 to earn an exemption into Second Stage of the 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. He’s also exempt through the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas Latin America Swing.

He’s no stranger to top-level golf. He won the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama City, Panama, in January, earning invitations to the 2024 Masters, U.S. Open and The Open. He was a member of the International Team in the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2023 and 2024. His recent pro starts include a pair of made cuts on the Asian Tour (T22 at the Black Mountain Championship in Thailand and T44 at the International Series Thailand).

De la Fuente was awarded a sponsor exemption into this week’s field after shooting 11-under to win a 27-hole event for Mexican players staged at El Cardonal at Diamante on Oct. 7.

Omar Morales (amateur)

Hometown: Puebla, Mexico

Pereda is the only Mexican who held full status on the PGA TOUR in 2024. Morales might represent the country’s best hope of adding another in the years to come.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Morales briefly held the lead during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Open with an opening front-nine 32. The 20-year-old ultimately faded, but his talent was on display then.

Morales is the highest-ranked Latin amateur in the world, currently 12th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The UCLA senior is also fifth in the PGA TOUR University Ranking and could climb much higher with a strong showing this week. After the NCAA Championship, the No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earns PGA TOUR membership. Players Nos. 2-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) earn Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Morales finished third at the Pac-12 Championships in the spring and advanced to the Round of 16 of the U.S. Amateur a few months later. He’s carded four finishes inside the top 12 to begin his final season at UCLA.

Morales has played the Mexico Open at Vidanta twice (2023, 2024) and qualified for the U.S. Open in consecutive seasons (2023, 2024). He’s seeking to make his first PGA TOUR cut in his fifth TOUR start.

Emilio González

Hometown: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

González reclaimed his form on the Korn Ferry Tour last season after an injury cut his 2023 campaign short. González made 16 cuts and notched two top 10s and seven top 25s to finish 49th on the Points List to comfortably retain his status for 2025.

A former D-II golfer at St. Mary’s University, González won seven times in college. He joined PGA TOUR Latinoamérica for the 2022 season, making the cut in seven of his 12 starts. Later that year, he finished T24 at Final Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to secure his card for 2023.

González is making his second career PGA TOUR start at the World Wide Technology Championship after a T74 finish at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, which he played as a Monday Qualifier.

Isidro Benítez

Hometown: Puebla, Mexico

A four-time winner on the Mexican Tour, Benítez’s track record on TOUR is sparse. This week will be just his sixth start on TOUR. His lone made cut was at last year’s World Wide Technology Championship.

Benítez is well-known in Latin American golf circles. He made 58 starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (2018-23), including a win at the 2018 VISA Argentina Open as a 19-year-old. He was the only teenager to win across 161 tournaments PGA TOUR Latinoamérica staged between 2012 and 2023. That win earned him an invitation to The Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush.

Benítez was awarded a sponsor exemption into this week’s field after winning a match-play event for Mexican players staged at El Cardonal at Diamante in October. After this week, the pressure only intensifies as Benítez is scheduled to play Second Stage of the 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry in the coming weeks.