Brian Campbell defeated Aldrich Potgieter on the second playoff hole to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. For Campbell, the 2025 Mexican Open at VidantaWorld is his first professional win on any tour.
Before we dive into Campbell’s win, let’s review the first few days of the tournament. Jeremy Paul, Kris Ventura and Harry Hall shared the lead at 7-under after round one. Ventura teed off on his last hole with a one shot-lead, but a bogey dropped him back to sharing the lead. Paul and Ventura were seeking their first win while Hall was chasing his second. Five players were one shot back while former major champion Francesco Molinari sat two shots back.
PGA Tour rookie Potgieter took a commanding four-shot lead heading into the weekend. The 20-year-old South African made 10 birdies for a 10-under par score of 61, which tied the course record. Potgieter had a chance to make history and be the only player to shoot a sub-par round of 60 on both the PGA and Korn Ferry tours. Stephan Jaeger and Campbell were tied for second at 12- under par.
Heading into the final round, Potgieter held a one-shot lead over Campbell. Both players were looking for their first PGA Tour win. After his incredible play on Friday, Potgieter only made six birdies to go with two bogeys. Campbell and Alex Smalley each shot 7-under 64 for low rounds of the day. Each player would make birdie to get to 20-under par and head to a playoff.
On the first playoff hole, Potgieter made a par and Campbell had just under 14 feet for birdie and the win. He came up just short, and both players headed back to the 18th tee for the second playoff hole. Potgieter teed off first and hit the right side of the fairway, putting pressure on his opponent. Campbell made his worst driver swing of the day. His ball was heading out of bounds down the right side of the fairway but got a lucky bounce off a tree back into the rough.
Campbell laid up to just under 70 yards while Potgieter found the greenside bunker with his second shot. He would hit his bunker shot to about six feet for birdie. Campbell hit a wedge shot from 68 yards out that bounced near the hole and spun back to three feet for birdie.
Potgieter’s birdie putt slid right past the hole, leaving him to wait and see if Campell would miss his birdie putt. Campbell calmly made the three-foot birdie putt to secure his first PGA Tour win.
“You’ve got to get those breaks sometimes. Unfortunately, I hit a really bad tee shot there, caught the tree, was able to keep it in play and get ourselves in a good position to get a wedge and keep the pressure on,” Campbell said.
This life-changing win means Campbell can compete in the Players Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship for the first time in his career. He also gets into the remaining five signature events left on the PGA Tour schedule this season.
Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Florida for four straight events. Austin Eckroat will look to defend at the Cognizant Classic.
