Mexico Open Recap
It was a great finish at the Mexico Open on Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta. Brian Campbell survived a two hole playoff against Aldrich Potgieter to win his first ever PGA Tour event, notching a monumental first victory after a whopping 127 starts on tour. It was an exciting finish with both players making birdie on the 18th hole in regulation to force a playoff. With a major stroke of good luck, Brian Campbell was able to win the second playoff hole with another birdie on 18 after his tee shot nearly sailed out of play. Clearly nervous, Campbell blocked his tee shot well right into the trees. It appeared to be out of play until it rattled around in the trees and kicked back into play. He then hit a good layup within wedge distance and got up and down for birdie to win the tournament.
Potgieter led the tournament most of the week after shooting a course record 61 on Friday. He continued his stellar play into Saturday but stumbled on his final holes. He went into Sunday with a one stroke lead and played through some adversity early in his round and went on to shoot even par. While is length is his big advantage (averaging 326.9 yards off the tee) his short game is what held him back over the weekend. All of that said, second place is a great finish and given his talent I’m sure we’ll see the 20 year old back in contention again soon.
Winner Highlights
Campbell’s win will help catapult his career at an opportune time. He now qualifies for the 5 remaining PGA Tour signature events this season, the upcoming Players Championship, and most importantly the majors: He’ll play in The Masters and The PGA Championship. On top of that he’s now exempt for two years on the PGA Tour which will add some nice stability to an up and down career thus far.
It’s always nice to see a first time winner break through. It makes the ‘non-elevated’ events fun to watch. While some players on the leaderboard are not the big names we’re used to seeing, there were several notable players on the leaderboard including Ashkay Bhatia, Joel Dahmen, Nicolai Højgaard, and defending champion Jake Knapp. On top of that, the event coincided with National Margarita Day on Saturday which was a nice coincidence and a good reason to watch golf and enjoy a cocktail.
Up next: The Bear Trap at PGA National
This week the PGA Tour kicks off the Florida swing at PGA National and the famed Bear Trap. While I’ll always refer to it as the Honda Classic, it’s now the Cognizant Classic, and we’re closing in on important chances for players to compete ahead of the Bay Hill Invitational, The Players Championship and The Masters. On that note Jordan Speith will play this week, his first time playing this event. It’s likely because he needs more reps coming off of wrist surgery last fall. The field includes many of the world’s best players, including top ranked Russell Henley at #17 in the OWGR and Sepp Straka who is #3 in the FedEx Cup standings. It will be fun to watch the Florida swing get started as we inch closer to the big events in March and April.
Eddie Davey