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Andrew Novak cruised to his first solo victory on the PGA Tour on Sunday, posting a 2-under-par 69 to win the VidantaWorld Mexico Open by five strokes in Vallarta, Mexico.
Novak lifted his first PGA Tour trophy in tandem with Ben Griffin at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event. This was the first time he got the job done on his own.
“It feels really good,” Novak said after finishing the week at 25-under 259. “I played well all week. Had to grind it out on Sunday. But I’ve been wanting a solo victory for a while now and it was really nice to get it here.”
He also jumped from No. 89 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week to a projected No. 53. Finishing the fall inside places Nos. 51-60 qualifies players for the first two signature events of 2027. The top 100 at the end of the fall retain their full-time status on tour.
The win also extends Novak’s exempt status through 2028, when the PGA Tour will shift to a new two-tiered schedule model.
“I should be confident, but I think the biggest thing for this is it’s going to give me opportunity,” Novak said. “I was obviously trying to stay in the moment but it’s hard not to think about what this could mean for 2028 with things changing with the PGA Tour. Obviously that could be massive for me.
“Yeah, there are massive implications for my career with this win. Obviously confidence coming from it is a part, but I think opportunity is now the biggest benefit.”
Novak entered the final round with a six-shot cushion after rounds of 61 and 62 Friday and Saturday. He was rarely threatened Sunday, despite opening his round with seven pars in a row and sitting at even for his round through 11 holes.
Novak sank three straight birdies starting at the par-5 12th, doubling his lead at the time from three shots to six once playing partner Doug Ghim finished up a bogey at No. 14.
Steven Fisk and Norway’s Kristoffer Ventura shot rounds of 63 to tie for second at 20 under. Ventura made meaningful progress in the FedEx Cup Fall race, moving from No. 108 to No. 76.
“I think honestly I stopped chasing the rankings. I kind of got tired of always looking at the leaderboard and the projected points,” Ventura said. “If that helped me I would have done it a lot more, but I made peace with maybe not keeping my card this year. I just said I’m going to do my process and if I fall short, I fall short, but at least I’m going to do my very best so that I can fall asleep content at the end of the day.”
Griffin shot a 67 and tied for fourth at 19 under with Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (66). Ghim double-bogeyed his final hole and dropped into a five-way tie for sixth at 18 under.
Hughes, a veteran player who hasn’t won since 2022, rose to No. 101 in the points race, the first player on the outside looking in with three tournaments to go — the World Wide Technology Championship, the Austin Championship and the RSM Classic.
“You get a text every week (with your standing) and you’re aware, it’s hard to hide from it,” Hughes said. “So I feel like I just want to know roughly where I’m at and what I need to do. I know I’ve got three in front of me. I still need to play some high-level golf down the stretch, but this certainly gives me some breathing room.”
–Field Level Media
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