The Mexico Open

Heading south of the States, the PGA Tour took to the west coast of Mexico over the weekend for the annual Mexico Open. The tournament played out at the venerable Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course just north of Puerto Vallarta.

American Brian Campbell beat South African Aldrich Potgieter in a tense playoff that lasted two holes after the pair had both settled on 20-under-par come the end of Sunday’s round.

With a packed field featuring the likes of Joel Dahmen and Akshay Bhatia, there was plenty of talent hungry for victory as play went underway. Campbell was hot out the gates by carding two opening rounds of 65 while Potgieter had a phenomenal Friday by making 10 birdies to score a 61, tying the course record.

Once all four rounds were completed, Isaiah Salinda secured third place with Aaron Rai and Ben Griffin in T4. Campbell and Potgieter took to the 18^th hole to begin their sudden death playoff. The pair both made par which saw them return to the 18^th hole again.

Clearly feeling a mountain of pressure, Campbell sliced his ball far to the right off the tee only to get a remarkable bounce from a tree that sailed his ball back into play on the rough to the righthand side of the fairway. He would then proceed to lay up before attacking the flag and securing a birdie, relieving Potgieter of needing to sink his par putt.

The victory was Brian Campbell’s first win on the PGA Tour. He had come close to winning on the Korn Ferry Tour last year when he lost a playoff to Kevin Velo at the Astara Golf Championship. It’s a remarkable feat for a player who has historically suffered from severe pains in the left side of his body.

Campbell’s health woes had nearly steered him towards seeking an alternative career path away from the golf course. Last summer he said “Last year I actually considered maybe I have to stop playing golf. It was a point in my life where it hurt to hit a club.”

He was naturally thrilled with the outcome of the tournament, the victory enables him to have a spot in The Masters as well as extending his Tour card through to 2027 “It’s not been easy, I’m not going to lie. It’s crazy what can happen when you focus on the right things. As long as I focus on the right things, then good things will happen.”

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