Aldrich Potgieter signed for a bogey-free 10-under 61, his career-low 18-hole score, to move into a four-shot lead at 16-under at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. He holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his 10th start on Tour.

“Started off really good with five birdies in a row on the front nine and that helped a lot to get momentum. Made a really good chip-in for par on 10 to keep the momentum going. I knew on the back nine there was a couple of par-5s, three par-5s that I still had available to me, just tried to birdie those three and come up with a good score. Made some bonus birdies and didn’t birdie the par-5s, which were unfortunate. Yeah, really happy with today,” said the South African.

“I like to look at the scoreboard, keeps me on top of it, I think. After that five birdies in a row stretch and hole 10’s a really difficult hole into the wind as well, really tight with the water on the right, I kind of knew I just had to reset and start over after nine. Ended up hitting in the water still, but I was still in the zone enough to keep the par save going and keep the momentum going forward. Just trying to give myself a 10-, 15-foot putt on every hole and try and make a birdie.”

At 20 years 5 months and 8 days, Potgieter becomes the fourth youngest player to shoot 61 or better on the PGA Tour, the youngest was Patrick Cantlay who shot 60 in the second round of the 2011 Travelers Championship at the age of 19 Years, 3 Months and 7 Days.

Germany’s Stephan Jaeger carded a 64 to move into a share of second place at 12-under alongside American Brian Campbell whose 65 featured an eagle at the par-4 2nd hole. 130 marks Campbell’s low 36-hole score on Tour.

England’s Aaron Rai shot a bogey-free 64 featuring an eagle at the par-4 7th to move into fourth place at 11-under.

Germany’s Jeremy Paul who was part of a three-way tie for the lead overnight signed for a 70 and moved down into T11 at 8-under. Co-leader Kris Ventura of Norway shot a 71 and lies in T18 at 7-under and finally England’s Harry Hall carded a 72 and slipped down into T29 at 6-under.

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The Mexico Open at VidantaWorld marks the first opportunity for players to earn FedExCup points toward the Aon Swing 5 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The five players, not otherwise exempt, that earn the most FedExCup points at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld and next week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches will qualify.

Five players in the field at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld are currently qualified for the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Akshay Bhatia (Top 50 in 2024 FedExCup), Stephan Jaeger (Top 50 in 2024 FedExCup), Aaron Rai (Top 50 in 2024 FedExCup), Patrick Rodgers (Aon Next 10), Sam Stevens (Aon Next 10).

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