Golf returned to El Camaleon in May 2025 when the LPGA reclaimed a course that had already seen PGA Tour and LIV Golf action, making it one of the rare venues tackled by all three major professional circuits. Chisato Iwai, a Japanese rookie, won by six shots and pocketed $375,000. Now the Riviera Maya Open is back, running April 30 to May 3, 2026, with the world’s best player in the field.

From that debut, the Riviera Maya Open has quickly grown into the flagship event for women’s golf in Latin America, and the $2.5 million purse shows the LPGA is serious about its commitment here.

Winner’s payout & full prize money breakdown at the Riviera Maya Open 2026

The champion walks away with $375,000, plus a two-year LPGA Tour exemption, Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking points, and 500 Race to the CME Globe points. Here’s how the full field gets paid:

The two-year LPGA Tour exemption that comes with the win is arguably more valuable than the cash for players fighting to keep their cards. For a rookie or a journeyman pro on the bubble, this title buys two full seasons of security, and Chisato Iwai proved last year exactly what that kind of breakout moment looks like.

With 500 CME Globe points on the line, this event is not just a standalone payday. It is a legitimate swing in the season-long race toward the CME Group Tour Championship, where the end-of-year bonus pool dwarfs any single tournament purse on tour.

What makes El Camaleón unlike any other LPGA stop?

El Camaleon is the only course on the LPGA calendar that plays through a tropical jungle, mangrove forests and Caribbean oceanfront in one round. This is not a brochure line. There are really three different types of shot- making that are required over the 18 holes.

Then there is the 7th, a par-5 with a cenote, or limestone sinkhole, right in the middle of the fairway. Locally they call it the “Devil’s Mouth.” You don’t see that at the Pelican Women’s Championship. The course is all paspalum grass around, which plays different than the bentgrass or bermudagrass players will find on a typical week on the LPGA.

The title sponsor at the Riviera Maya Open is not a bank or an insurance brand. The event is literally “MEXICO,” as the country’s tourism board backs the event to showcase the region. Nine Mexican players are in the 125-player field this week, including Gaby Lopez and Maria Fassi, playing in front of a home crowd that really treats the tournament like a national event.

The Camaleon used to host the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic from 2007-2022, before LIV Golf had an event here. It is one of the very few courses on Earth to host all three: the PGA Tour, LIV, and now the LPGA. There’s a gravitas to this place that most second-year tournaments just don’t have because of that history.

Round 2 Leaderboard: Where Things Stand After Friday

With R2 now complete on May 2, Nelly Korda and Brianna Do are locked together at the top at 9 under par, shooting 68-67 and 66-69 respectively. Korda, who arrived here straight from Houston after winning the Chevron Championship for her third major title, has not finished outside the top two all year. She is not letting up in Mexico either.

Minami Katsu and Melanie Green sit at 7 under in a share of third, with a pack including Carlota Ciganda, Soo Bin Joo, Arpichaya Yubol, and home favourite Gaby López bunched at 5 and 6 under. Lopez, at 5 under through two rounds, is giving the Mexican crowd exactly what they came to see, with two rounds of serious golf still to play this weekend.