Aldrich Potgieter threatened a ’59 round’ on his way to opening up a four-shot lead in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, as England’s Aaron Rai charged into contention.
Potgieter carded a 10-under 61 to jump into a commanding advantage at Vidanta Vallarta, moving the 20-year-old to 16 under ahead of Germany’s Stephan Jaeger and American Brian Campbell.
The South African, who won the Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2022, carded five consecutive birdies in a front-nine 29 and then chipped in for par after his tee shot went into the water at the tenth.
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Potgieter added four more birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine to leave him requiring an eagle at the par-five last for the first sub-60 round of the PGA Tour season, having shot 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, only to find the bunker on his way to a closing par.
“I knew on the back nine there was three par fives that I still had available to me, just tried to birdie those three and come up with a good score,” said Potgieter, who tied the course record. “Yeah, made some bonus birdies and didn’t birdie the par fives, which were unfortunate. Yeah, really happy with today.”
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According to the PGA Tour, Potgieter becomes the fourth-youngest player to shoot 61 or better in a PGA Tour event, with Patrick Cantlay, Nick Dunlap and South Korea’s Tom Kim the only players to have beaten him.
Jaeger fired a 64 to move into a tie for second at 12 under with Campbell, who posted a second-round 65, while Rai – the highest-ranked player in the field – jumped into four place and within five of the halfway lead after a seven-under 64.
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Aaron Rai is chasing a second PGA Tour victory, having won the Wyndham Championship last season
Rai eagled the par-five 16th to go alongside five birdies in a bogey-free round, with Ben Griffin (65), Akshay Bhatia (66) and Isaiah Salinda (67) a further stroke back in a share of fifth on 10 under.
Fellow Englishman Harry Hall, who held a share of the overnight lead after an opening 64, is 10 strokes off the pace after a second-round 72 which mixed six birdies with five bogeys and a double bogey.
Watch the third round of the Mexico Open on Saturday live on Sky Sports Golf from 2pm, and from Sky Sports Main Event at 8.30pm
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