2025 Mexico Open final round will have unlikely showdown

Sunday’s final round at the 2025 Mexico Open at VidantaWorld will be a day of firsts for the 54-hole leader and the man trying to track him down to complete a storybook comeback.

Twenty-year-old PGA Tour rookie Aldrich Potgieter entered Saturday’s third round with a four-shot lead after firing a second-round 61 that saw him narrowly miss making PGA Tour history. The South African prodigy and his caddie targeted 6-under-par as the third-round score that would allow them to maintain their cushion entering the final round.

But a pack of chasers, led by Stephan Jaeger and Brian Campbell, wouldn’t make it easy on the young South African.

Potgieter saw Jaegar cut his lead to one midway through the front nine, with Campbell not far behind.

But Potgieter stuck to his game plan, and birdies at 11, 12, and 14 got him to 5-under on the day and 21-under for the tournament, giving him a three-shot lead over Brian Campbell and a five-shot edge over Jaegar with three holes to play.

The 20-year-old long-hitter appeared to be in control, but he lost a tee ball way right on the par-3 17th, which led to a bogey, and then had to scramble for a par on the par-5 18th to finish the day at 20-under.

Potgieter’s late stumbles cracked the door open for Campbell, who will enter Sunday one shot back at 19-under after a closing birdie that has him in new territory entering the final round.

Sunday will be the first time that Potgieter enters the final-round cauldron with a lead in a PGA Tour career that is just four starts old. Potgieter played in the final round at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines a month ago but shot a Sunday 78 to plummet out of contention and finish in a tie for 15th.

On the other end is Campbell, who is back on the PGA Tour for the first time in eight years after finishing seventh on the Korn Ferry Tour points list last season. The Mexico Open is just Campbell’s 28th career PGA Tour start. He has never had a top-10 finish, and Sunday will be the first time he will be in the top five entering the final round. He did not win in 159 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Campbell was once in Potgieter’s shoes.

Ten years ago, the 31-year-old was a star amateur at the University of Illinois. He turned pro in 2015 and quickly earned his PGA Tour card for the 2016-17 season. But he finished 180 in the FedEx Cup standings in 2017 and has been grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour ever since. Campbell almost regained his Tour card in 2019 but finished 30th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list when only the top 25 got cards. During the 2020-21 season, Campbell finished 98th on the points list and lost exempt status. He made just three starts in 2022.

In a story of resilience and grit, Campbell rediscovered his game and finally got back to the PGA Tour this season.

On Sunday, he’ll have a chance to complete a feel-good story 10 years in the making.

To do so, he’ll have to best a long-bombing prodigy in Potgieter, who is outdriving him by an average of 32 yards.

Potgieter is leading the field this week in Strokes Gained Putting (8.12) and his second in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (4.25). Campbell has done his damage in a different way, leading the field in Strokes Gained Around the Green (4.65) while being seventh in Strokes Gained Approaching the Green (5.58).

With the PGA Tour’s stars taking the week off before the Florida Swing, the 2025 Mexico Open was in need of a Sunday storyline.

It got it in Potgieter and Campbell.

One an up-and-coming star looking to announce himself in just his fourth career start. The other is a former prodigy turned wily journeyman looking to complete a return from the golf abyss.

“Awesome,” Campbell said after shooting a bogey-free 64 on Saturday. “I mean, it’s what dreams are made of. This is why I’ve worked so hard to get back here. It’s a blessing to be here this quickly, but I’m just enjoying the moment and going to continue to do what I’ve been doing this week tomorrow and see where it takes us.”