Karl Vilips Fires Career-Low 62 to Lead Mexico Open

• Karl Vilips leads the VidantaWorld Mexico Open after a 9-under 62.
• Kensei Hirata is one shot back after a bogey-free 63.
• Ben Griffin, Marco Penge, Garrick Higgo and Jeffrey Kang share third place.

Karl Vilips put together two long birdie runs at Vidanta Vallarta on Thursday afternoon. He shot a 9-under 62 and took the first-round lead at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, the first of two consecutive PGA Tour events in Mexico.

The 25-year-old Australian started on the back nine and birdied five holes in a row from the 11th to the 15th. He finished with four straight birdies from the 6th to the 9th. In between he made one more birdie and one bogey. The 62 is a career low by two shots, and his 10 birdies are three more than he had ever made in a round on Tour.

This is his first 18-hole lead in 43 starts. He also leads the field in strokes gained off the tee.

“Had it on a string for the first nine,” Vilips said. “Got a little loose in the middle and got it back on course toward the end of the round. It was lift, clean and place today so being in the fairway was a must for me, and I took advantage of those drives that I hit.”

Vilips is 141st in the FedExCup Fall standings, where the top 100 keep full status. He does not need to worry about that line, because his win at the 2025 Puerto Rico Open exempts him through 2027. He finished T72 here last year.

Hirata keeps the momentum

Kensei Hirata does need the points. The Japanese rookie is 170th, and last week he shared the 36-hole lead in Bermuda. His bogey-free 63 ties his career low. It included a 20-foot eagle putt at the 3rd and two birdie putts from outside 20 feet.

“It was a perfect 7-wood distance and hit a perfect 7-wood shot, which left me a really easy left to righter,” Hirata said of the eagle. “Then that went in and kept the momentum going the rest of the back nine.”

Griffin in the pack

Ben Griffin is the second-highest ranked player in the field. He played his last seven holes in 4-under, with an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys, for a 64. He leads the field in strokes gained putting. Griffin finished T4 here last year and has shot 67 or better in six of his seven rounds at Vidanta Vallarta. Next week’s World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante is the event he won last November.

Marco Penge, 112th in the standings, also shot 64 and holed an 18-foot eagle putt at the 3rd.

“I feel like I haven’t actually played that much this year,” Penge said. “I’ve only played 18 tournaments due to, obviously, health issues. I’m just trying to get back fit, really.”

Ortiz flies the flag

Guadalajara’s Alvaro Ortiz is playing on a sponsor exemption. He has already secured his 2027 PGA Tour card by finishing fifth on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. He opened with a bogey-free 65. Ortiz won this event in 2021, when it was part of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica schedule.

“It was lovely,” Ortiz said. “Bogey-free, played really solid. I felt like I was just flowing the whole day.”

Defending champion Brian Campbell is T22 after a 67. Reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark is the world No. 5 and the highest-ranked player in the field. He birdied all four par-5s and shot 69. John Daly II, son of the two-time major champion, opened with a 70 on a sponsor exemption. David Skinns aced the 134-yard 7th, the fourth hole-in-one in tournament history.

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