Brian Campbell came out on top at the Mexico Open on Sunday night as viewers were treated to some sudden-death playoff chaos between two antithetical player profiles: Campbell, a journeyman and one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour, and Aldrich Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African prodigy who currently leads the tour in driving distance.
Campbell defeated Potgieter after two playoff holes, marking his first PGA Tour win in just 28 starts. The Mexico Open field included just two players ranked in the top 40 in the Official World Golf Rankings, but the 31-year-old Campbell will earn a trip to Augusta National for his first Masters with the victory. He also claimed a spot in the Players Championship, the PGA Championship and five of the remaining signature events on tour.
Ten years of chugging along and 159 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour without a victory defined Campbell’s path to this win at the Vidanta Vallarta Course in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The University of Illinois alum first graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016 but was quickly relegated after missing 13 of 20 cuts. He finally found a groove last season in the minor leagues, finishing seventh in the KFT’s points ranking to earn his tour card again. Three starts later he played his way into the winner’s circle. It didn’t happen without a few hiccups along the way.
“I’m literally freaking out on the inside, I have no idea what’s going on,” Campbell said to the Golf Channel following the conclusion of the playoff. “To be in this position is just so unreal.”
Potgieter began Sunday’s final round with a one-stroke cushion over Campbell after firing a second-round 61 and a third-round 67 to tie the 54-hole scoring record at the event. Potgieter is only 10 starts into his PGA Tour career, but he is no stranger to competing and winning on the game’s biggest stages. Potgieter’s amateur résumé includes the Amateur Championship, where he became the youngest champion in the event’s history at age 17. With only 12 measured drives thus far on the PGA Tour, Potgieter has emerged as the longest hitter on tour, surpassing Rory McIlroy with an average of 328.7 yards off the tee.
The Vidanta Vallarta Course this week fit Potgieter’s game perfectly, allowing him to use his length off the tee to its full potential, as offline drives are not particularly penal on the Greg Norman design. However, it became apparent that the bombs-away game plan wasn’t the only way to attack the course, as Campbell continued to hang around the top of the leaderboard. On Sunday, NBC commentators compared Campbell’s ball speed to that of a senior tour player. He ranks last according to the tour’s driving distance statistics — 182 out of 182.
“He’s playing a different course than we are,” Campbell said of Potgieter’s game. “It’s been honestly fun to watch.”
Neither Campbell nor Potgieter had their best on Sunday, but both plugged away. Potgieter struggled out of the gates while Campbell floated around even par. The pair finished regulation play tied at 20-under, surpassing Isaiah Salinda’s clubhouse lead at 19-under.
The power of sudden-death pressure was on full display as both players hit multiple wayward shots en route to the final result. On the second playoff hole, Campbell’s drive was headed well beyond the out-of-bounds fence when it ricocheted off a tree and back into play. Potgieter then stood with an approach shot nearly 100 yards shorter than Campbell’s.
Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, Potgieter’s attempt to reach the par-5 18th hole in two left him short of the green, in a bunker. He failed to get up and down, while Campbell made a birdie with a short wedge in his hands after laying up. After nearly handing the tournament to his opponent off the tee, Campbell couldn’t believe the outcome.
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(Photo: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)
