Vallarta, Mexico (AP) – Aldrich Potgieter had the advance in the final of the Mexico Open, without the cushion which he appreciated after a sloppy final which made him settle for a 47 of 47 and With a single blow on Brian Campbell in Vidanta Vallarta.
Potgieter, the 20 -year -old electric player in South Africa, started with a four -stroke lead and held a first challenge from Stephan Jaeger, who closed in a blow after six holes.
The next challenge came from Campbell, which was sometimes 50 meters shorter from the tee than Potgieter but compensated with its putter, including a 60-foot birdie on the ninth by 3.
Potgieter led by three shots with two holes to do in the third round when he seriously missed his starting right on the 17th par-3, the ball set in bushes. He managed to hit this in the grass, then struck a beautiful pitch to save Bogey.
The 18th par-5, Potgieter was very short with an iron at 7 for his second blow after another big journey. From a waste zone, he went just above the back of the green, cut to a front pin and had to make a 5 feet for the peer.
Campbell finished with a birdie for a 64 to put themselves in a blow because the two opt for their first PGA Tour title and a trip to the Masters.
“He plays a different course from what we are,” said Campbell. “It was honestly fun to watch. I know him from last year (during the Korn Ferry tour), so it was fun. I play my game, he plays his game and we will see where it is File. “
Jaeger went from shot to the fall of five shots, only to rally with a pair of with 5S for a 66 to finish three behind.
Potgieter was 20 sous 193.
“Besides the last two holes, it was really good,” said Potgieter. “Brian was doing an excellent tour so I tried to stay a little in front of him. A little more difficult, so he didn’t do so many putts today, but we will save him for tomorrow.”
He would like nothing more than a return to Augusta National, where he played in 2023 as a British amateur champion. Potgieter won his PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour, which included a victory early and 59 in Colombia.
This firepower – is in particular the length – is what kept it in front of Vidanta Vallarta, a course with five per 5s and a lot of space outside the tee. He led the field at a distance of three days, checking 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 was not all embarrassed by the difference in duration. He plotted his way to a Tour without Bogey which gave him a shot during his first victory of PGA Tour.
Jaeger, who selected Scottie Scheffler to win the Houston Open last year, rolled in the water on the seventh hole per-4 accessible after being in a potieter stroke. He did Bogey, a two-stroke swing when the South African sorted out, and Jaeger did well to finish in the three shots at the end of the round.
“Obviously, the Bogey out of 7 in a way. It is a bit that hit a good journey, it’s about automatic Birdie, so a kind of two-shooting swing there,” said Jaeger. “Other than that, I gave myself beautiful looks, I hit a lot of lips, but I’m in a great place tomorrow.”
Alex Smalley had 64 and had five shots, with Aaron Rai (68) and Ben Griffin (67) another blow.
Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, the senior of the state of San Diego who won the Latin American amateur last month to win a trip to the Masters, had 65 the nine rear.
“Now that I had the cup, which, I think, was a big goal this week, it heard a lot of stress and I felt like I played much more for free today,” said Hastings. “Yeah, I think it showed on the dashboard. It was much less stressful.”
The issues on Sunday are more than a simple trip to the Masters. The winner will be in the players’ championship and the PGA championship, as well as five of the remaining $ 20 million in signature. Jaeger is already in his top 50 in the Fedex Cup last year.
