VALLARTA, Mexico — Aldrich Potgieter had the lead going into the final round of the Mexico Open, minus the cushion he enjoyed after a sloppy finish Saturday that made him settle for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot advantage over Brian Campbell at Vidanta Vallarta. Potgieter, the 20-year-old power player from South Africa, started with a four-shot lead and held off one challenge early from Stephan Jaeger, who closed within one shot after six holes. The next challenge came from Campbell, who at times was 50 yards shorter off the tee than Potgieter but made up for it with his putter, including a 60-foot birdie on the par-3 ninth.
Potgieter was leading by three shots with two holes left in the third round when he badly missed his tee shot to the right on the par-3 17th, the ball settling in some bushes. He managed to punch that out into the grass, then hit a beautiful pitch to save bogey. On the par-5 18th, Potgieter came up well short with a 7-iron for his second shot after another big drive.
From a waste area, he went just over the back of the green, chipped to a front pin and had to make a 5-footer for par. Campbell finished with a birdie for a 64 to get within one shot as both go for their first PGA Tour title and a trip to the Masters. Jaeger went from within one shot to falling five shots behind, only to rally with a pair of birdies on the par 5s for a 66 to finish three behind.
Potgieter was at 20-under 193. He would love nothing more than a return to Augusta National, where.