American golfer Angel Yin moves
into third-round lead at LPGA Thailand tournament
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 [February 22, 2025]
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.
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Aldrich Potgieter, of South Africa, tees off on the 16th hole during
the second round of the Mexico Open golf tournament in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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.
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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