"There’s a little bit of his footprint on it" - Tiger Woods-designed course garners reactions from players at WWT Championship
The World Wide Technology Championship is currently being played at El Cardonal at Diamante, the first course designed by Tiger Woods. Several current PGA Tour players see the 15-time Major champion's mark on the course.
A few players gave their opinions about the course in a video posted by the PGA Tour on X (formerly Twitter). Kevin Dougherty said:
"With Tiger [Woods] being such a good iron player you can tell with the way he designed the greens and there's certain sections like that. So, you can definitely tell there’s a little bit of his footprint on it."
According to Sam Ryder, one of the most striking elements of El Cardonal at Diamante is the absence of roughs:
"No rough. I don't think he [Tiger Woods] likes rough that much. It's wide off the tee, I think, as must people know, so, it's really just focused on second shots and iron play."
Zach Bauchou associated the length of the course with Tiger Woods' own characteristics as a player:
"It's not surprising that it's long, because he was a long player and rather wide fairways. I think the wide fairways definitely favors a guy that hits it far."
El Cardonal at Diamante opened in 2014 as the first Tiger Woods-designed golf course. Other courses followed in various parts of the world.
Some details about the first course designed by Tiger Woods
The 2024 World Wide Technology Championship venue measures 7,452 yards and is par 72, with a 75.9 rating and 140 slope. One of the most famous events to take place on the course was when Adam Long hit 56 out of 56 fairways in 2023. No player had accomplished this feat on the PGA Tour since 1992.
Tiger Woods founded his golf course design company, TGR Designs, in 2006. The firm worked on several projects prior to El Cardonal at Diamante, but this was the first to open.
El Cardonal at Diamante is part of the Diamante Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California (Pacific side). Woods later designed a short course for the same resort.
The facility is surrounded by nearly 20 other golf courses. These include Davis Love III's Dunes House at Diamante, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Cabo Real, Tom Fazio's Chileno Bay and Querencia, and four Jack Nicklaus courses: Cabo del Sol's Cove Club, El Dorado Golf & Beach Club, Palmilla Golf Club, and Quivira Golf Club.
To date, TGR Design has worked on 11 projects, most of which are open. Woods is currently working on two projects, Trout National - The Reserve, in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) star Mike Trout, and the Marcella Club in Utah.