VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Aldrich Potgieter showed his ability to shoot low Friday in the Mexico Open, powering and putting his way to a 10-under 61 that gave the big-hitting South African a four-shot lead going into the weekend at Vidanta Vallarta.
Potgieter chipped in for par after a tee shot into the water on the 10th hole. He failed to birdie two of the shorter par 5s on the back nine. He still had an outside chance at another sub-60 round, having shot 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour a year ago.
Those hopes ended with a tee shot into the bunker on the par-5 18th hole, and an approach that came up short into a bunker. The ball stayed near the lip, making it difficult for him to get the 20-yard bunker shot close. He two-putted from 25 feet for par.
“But it was OK,” he said of the par. “I knew I made a lot of extra birdies throughout the day where that wasn’t going to hurt me.”
Potgieter tied the course record and was at 16-under 126, four shots ahead of Stephan Jaeger (64) and Brian Campbell, who birdied his last hole for a second straight 65.
It was superb display for Potgieter, who won the 2022 British Amateur at age 17 and last year became the youngest player (19) to win on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I love the golf course. It definitely suits my game, I think, in a lot of aspects,” Potgieter said. “If I can keep putting well, I think it should be pretty good.”
His power and ball-striking stand out. His putter is what led to the 61, with Potgieter holing seven putts from the 10-foot range or longer. That doesn't include the 10th, where his tee shot found the water, he came up just short of the green and chipped in from 20 feet for par.
He reached the 661-yard 12th hole in two by hitting driver off the fairway to just over 20 feet.
“I’ve been practicing, doing a drill on the driving range with teeing it really low and hitting it really good with the driver that way,” Potgieter said. “I was telling my caddie, ‘Let’s just do the same thing.’ It was a perfect number, so yeah, hit the perfect shot.”
Seven of his drives went 325 yards or longer.
Jaeger had another bogey on one of the five par 5s, this time by hitting wedge over the green at No. 12, and still managed a 64 to stay in the mix. He had six birdies on his last 10 holes.
“It’s one of those golf courses I feel like if you hit it nicely and you give yourself a lot of chances, the greens are so good it’s nice to make some putts,” he said.
Aaron Rai of England, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 29, had a 64 and was five shots behind.
Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., was the low Canadian at 5 under after a round of 66.
Antoine Rozner came to his final hole needing birdie to move the cut line and knock out 12 players. Rozner had to make a 10-foot par to avoid missing the cut himself.
Two Masters-bound amateurs were among the 77 players who made the cut at 3-under 138. Latin America Amateur champion Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands birdied three of his last four holes for a 67 and was at 136. U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester shot another 69 and was at 138.
Also making the cut was Blades Brown, the 17-year-old who turned pro this year. He shot 69 and was 11 shots out of the lead.
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The Associated Press