TENSE TIMES Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa plays his shot from the 16th tee during the third round of the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld 2025 at Vidanta Vallarta on February 22, 2025 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Picture: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images/AFP
Image: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images/AFP
South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter navigated a difficult third round to cling to a one-stroke lead at the Mexico Open on Saturday, as he seeks his first win on the PGA Tour.
Though his lead was cut from his overnight advantage of four, the 20-year-old PGA Tour rookie did well to stay in front ahead of the final round. Potigieter moved to 20-under with a four-under 67 in round three.
American Brian Campbell closed the gap with a seven-under 64 to move within a stroke.
German Stephan Jaeger was third on 17-under.
Potgieter managed to get to five-under for his round, before a bogey at the par three 17th and a frustrating five at the closing par 5 18th saw him lose ground to Campbell who birdied his final hole.
"Besides the last two holes, it was really good," said Potgieter.
”Brian was having a great round so I tried to just stay a little bit ahead of him. It got a little tough throughout the day with the wind a little bit, some pin placements were a little bit more tough so didn't make as many putts today.
"But we'll save it for tomorrow.”
The big-hitting Potgieter already leads the PGA Tour driving distance stats with an average tee shot of 328.7 yards (300.5m) , ahead of four-time major champion Rory McIlroy (326.7 yards).
In Friday’s second round, Potgieter became the fourth-youngest player to shoot 61 or lower on the PGA TOUR since 1983.
In October last year, Potgieter became the second youngest player to earn a US PGA Tour card, via the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) moneylist.
He finished 29th on the KFT moneylist, with the top-30 earning playing privileges for the forthcoming season on the PGA Tour. The KFT is the secondary golf tour in the USA.
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