Brian Campbell got here out on high on the Mexico Open on Sunday night time as viewers have been handled to some sudden-death playoff chaos between two antithetical participant profiles: Campbell, a journeyman and one of many shortest hitters on the PGA Tour, and Aldrich Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African prodigy who at the moment leads the tour in driving distance.
Campbell defeated Potgieter after two playoff holes, marking his first PGA Tour win in simply 28 begins. The Mexico Open subject included simply two gamers ranked within the high 40 within the Official World Golf Rankings, however the 31-year-old Campbell will earn a visit to Augusta Nationwide for his first Masters with the victory. He additionally claimed a spot within the Gamers Championship, the PGA Championship and 5 of the remaining signature occasions on tour.
Ten years of chugging alongside and 159 begins on the Korn Ferry Tour with out a victory outlined Campbell’s path to this win on the Vidanta Vallarta Course in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The College of Illinois alum first graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016 however was shortly relegated after lacking 13 of 20 cuts. He lastly discovered a groove final season within the minor leagues, ending seventh within the KFT’s factors rating to earn his tour card once more. Three begins later he performed his approach into the winner’s circle. It didn’t occur with out a few hiccups alongside the best way.
“I’m actually freaking out on the within, I do not know what’s happening,” Campbell stated to the Golf Channel following the conclusion of the playoff. “To be on this place is simply so unreal.”
Potgieter started Sunday’s last spherical with a one-stroke cushion over Campbell after firing a second-round 61 and a third-round 67 to tie the 54-hole scoring file on the occasion. Potgieter is barely 10 begins into his PGA Tour profession, however he’s no stranger to competing and profitable on the sport’s greatest levels. Potgieter’s beginner résumé consists of the Beginner Championship, the place he turned the youngest champion within the occasion’s historical past at age 17. With solely 12 measured drives to this point on the PGA Tour, Potgieter has emerged because the longest hitter on tour, surpassing Rory McIlroy with a mean of 328.7 yards off the tee.
The Vidanta Vallarta Course this week match Potgieter’s sport completely, permitting him to make use of his size off the tee to its full potential, as offline drives should not notably penal on the Greg Norman design. Nevertheless, it turned obvious that the bombs-away sport plan wasn’t the one option to assault the course, as Campbell continued to hold across the high of the leaderboard. On Sunday, NBC commentators in contrast Campbell’s ball velocity to that of a senior tour participant. He ranks final in line with the tour’s driving distance statistics — 182 out of 182.
“He’s enjoying a special course than we’re,” Campbell stated of Potgieter’s sport. “It’s been truthfully enjoyable to look at.”
Neither Campbell nor Potgieter had their greatest on Sunday, however each plugged away. Potgieter struggled out of the gates whereas Campbell floated round even par. The pair completed regulation play tied at 20-under, surpassing Isaiah Salinda’s clubhouse lead at 19-under.
The facility of sudden-death strain was on full show as each gamers hit a number of wayward pictures en path to the ultimate end result. On the second playoff gap, Campbell’s drive was headed nicely past the out-of-bounds fence when it ricocheted off a tree and again into play. Potgieter then stood with an strategy shot practically 100 yards shorter than Campbell’s.
As a substitute of capitalizing on the chance, Potgieter’s try to achieve the par-5 18th gap in two left him in need of the inexperienced, in a bunker. He didn’t rise up and down, whereas Campbell made a birdie with a brief wedge in his arms after laying up. After practically handing the event to his opponent off the tee, Campbell couldn’t imagine the result.
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(Photograph: Hector Vivas / Getty Photographs)
