From PGA Tour
Aldrich Potgieter has the lead going into the final round of the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, minus the cushion he enjoyed after a sloppy finish Saturday that made him settle for a four-under 67 and a one-shot advantage over Brian Campbell at Vidanta Vallarta.
Potgieter, the 20-year-old power player from South Africa, started with a four-shot lead and held off one challenge early from Stephan Jaeger, who closed within one shot after six holes.
The next challenge came from Campbell, who at times was 50 yards shorter off the tee than Potgieter but made up for it with his putter, including a 60-foot birdie on the par-three ninth.
Potgieter was leading by three shots with two holes left in the third round when he badly missed his tee shot to the right on the par-three 17th, the ball settling in some bushes. He managed to punch that out into the grass, then hit a beautiful pitch to save bogey.
On the par-five 18th, Potgieter came up well short with a seven-iron for his second shot after another big drive. From a waste area, he went just over the back of the green, chipped to a front pin and had to make a five-footer for par.
Campbell finished with a birdie for a 64 to get within one shot as both go for their first PGA Tour title and a trip to the Masters.
Jaeger went from within one shot to falling five shots behind, only to rally with a pair of birdies on the par-fives for a 66 to finish three behind.
Potgieter was at 20-under on 193.
He would love nothing more than a return to Augusta National, where he played in 2023 as The Amateur Championship winner. Potgieter earned his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour, which featured one win early and a 59 in Colombia.
That firepower — particularly his length — is what has kept him in front at Vidanta Vallarta, a course with five par-fives and plenty of room off the tee. He has led the field in driving distance all three days, checking in 329.4 yards for his average Saturday.
He played in the last group with Campbell and Jaeger — the same trio for the final round — and Campbell wasn’t the least bit bothered by the difference in length. He plotted his way to a bogey-free round that gave him a shot at his first PGA Tour win.
Jaeger, who held off Scottie Scheffler to win the Texas Children’s Houston Open last year, drove into the water on the reachable par-four seventh hole after getting within one shot of Potgieter. He made bogey, a two-shot swing when the South African made birdie, and Jaeger did well to finish within three shots at the end of the round.
Erik van Rooyen had three-under 68 to move into a share of 29th on eight-under, while Thriston Lawrence held on with a level-par 71 and was on five-under in a share of 55th.
