Imago
Credits:
Imago
Credits:
The path to the PGA Tour winds through the Mayan jungle this week, where a seven-figure purse and pivotal season-long points are on the line at the Tulum Championship. This marks the final international event of the season, and it is the second time the Korn Ferry Tour has held it under the Tulum Championship name.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The tournament, which features the same $1,000,000 purse as its inaugural 2025 event, awards its champion an 18% payout, 500 crucial Korn Ferry Tour points, and roughly 16.4 Official World Golf Ranking points. These are all vital assets in the season-long race for a PGA Tour card.
While an $180,000 check awaits the winner in Tulum, the most valuable prizes aren’t cash at all. At the end of the season, the top 20 players on the points list earn PGA Tour cards for 2027. Further, the player who finishes at the top earns exemptions into The PLAYERS Championship and the U.S. Open in 2027.
Top Stories
Here is the complete payout structure for the 2026 Tulum Championship:
| Position | Prize Money |
| 1 | $180,000 |
| 2 | $90,000 |
| 3 | $60,000 |
| 4 | $45,000 |
| 5 | $38,000 |
| 6 | $34,500 |
| 7 | $32,000 |
| 8 | $29,500 |
| 9 | $27,500 |
| 10 | $25,500 |
| 11 | $23,650 |
| 12 | $22,000 |
| 13 | $20,500 |
| 14 | $19,000 |
| 15 | $18,000 |
| 16 | $17,000 |
| 17 | $16,000 |
| 18 | $15,000 |
| 19 | $14,000 |
| 20 | $13,000 |
| 21 | $12,150 |
| 22 | $11,350 |
| 23 | $10,550 |
| 24 | $9,750 |
| 25 | $9,999 |
| 26 | $8,530 |
| 27 | $8,100 |
| 28 | $7,700 |
| 29 | $7,400 |
| 30 | $7,100 |
| 31 | $6,850 |
| 32 | $6,650 |
| 33 | $6,450 |
| 34 | $6,250 |
| 35 | $6,050 |
| 36 | $5,850 |
| 37 | $5,650 |
| 38 | $5,450 |
| 39 | $5,250 |
| 40 | $5,150 |
| 41 | $5,050 |
| 42 | $4,950 |
| 43 | $4,850 |
| 44 | $4,750 |
| 45 | $4,650 |
| 46 | $4,550 |
| 47 | $4,500 |
| 48 | $4,450 |
| 49 | $4,400 |
| 50 | $4,350 |
| 51 | $4,300 |
| 52 | $4,260 |
| 53 | $4,240 |
| 54 | $4,220 |
| 55 | $4,200 |
| 56 | $4,180 |
| 57 | $4,160 |
| 58 | $4,140 |
| 59 | $4,120 |
| 60 | $4,100 |
| 61 | $4,080 |
| 62 | $4,060 |
| 63 | $4,040 |
| 64 | $4,030 |
| 65 | $4,000 |
The field also features several players who are playing well this season. Eugenio Chacarra, ranked No. 125 in the OWGR, will compete after a runner-up finish at the Hero Indian Open and a third-place showing at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Ian Holt sits atop the 2026 Korn Ferry points list following back-to-back wins earlier this season. A third victory this week would trigger the three-win promotion, sending him directly to the PGA Tour mid-season.
Bryson Nimmer is back in the field to defend his 2025 title, which he secured in a sudden-death playoff over Stuart MacDonald.
About the PGA Riviera Maya: Interesting facts behind the championship
The venue itself is part of the tournament’s story. Robert Trent Jones II designed PGA Riviera Maya, which opened in 2010. The 18-hole, par-72 layout features fairways carved through dense Mayan jungle and shaped around natural lakes and cenotes, using a limestone quarry as its foundation. It’s a sinkhole formation unique to the Yucatan Peninsula.
The course has also proven to be a stern test. The scoring average in 2025 was 73.49, making it one of the toughest courses on the Korn Ferry Tour that season.
Another interesting fact about the course is that it is within the Tulum Country Club, located roughly 15 miles from the town of Tulum. In 2019, it became the first facility in Latin America to partner with the PGA of America.
Another interesting fact: before joining the Korn Ferry Tour schedule in 2025, the venue had already hosted multiple PGA Tour-sanctioned events through PGA Tour Latinoamérica, including the 2024 Bupa Championship at Tulum.
The Korn Ferry Tour’s arrival in 2025 marked a return to Mexico, reviving its earlier presence there. The event will remain on the tour through at least 2027.
With 156 players on the field and eight ranked inside the world’s top 200, we expect the conditions to be equally demanding and interesting this week.
Written by
Edited by
Abhimanyu Gupta