PGA Tour rookie Aldricht Potgieter was on the verge of joining a super-exclusive PGA Tour club after just missing out on a sub-60 round at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. The South African leads the tournament on 16-under after 36 holes, four shots clear of second place.
Potgieter's exceptional performance came in the second round when he carded 10 birdies without a bogey. The 20-year-old rising star carded six birdies on the front nine, including five in a row, to make the turn on 6-under. He kept up the pace on the back nine, but was unable to make birdies on the par-5 14th and 18th, which prevented him from carding the mythical 59.
At the end of his performance, the South African talked to Golf Channel, saying he was pleased with the high level of his game. He also confirmed that he had his eyes on the possibility of a 59 for part of the day.
"I was really happy with the round," Potgieter said.
"Unfortunate not making birdie on the last par 5s, but it was still a really good day, I'll take it any day."
"It did", he added, talking about the 59 crossing his mind, "but I was kind of not really sure where I was at. I was just looking at the leaderboard and seeing 12 or 13 under. I didn't really know what my today's score was like, but I heard on the last that... I knew I had to make two birdies on the par 5s and an extra one. Got the extra birdie on 17 which is probably one of the most difficult to get, but I definitely... it [the 59] was in the back of the mind, but close enough anyway."
According to golf statistician Justin Ray, Potgieter is just the fourth player under 21 to shoot a round of 61 or better on the PGA Tour in the last 40 years. The others were Patrick Cantlay (60 at the 2011 Travelers Championship), Tom Kim (61 at the 2022 Wyndham Championship) and Nick Dunlap (60 at the 2024 American Express). Both Kim and Dunlap went on to win those events.
Aldrich Potgieter had another solid round on the first day of the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, carding a 6-under 65 with seven birdies and one bogey.
Potgieter is already a member of the exclusive sub-60 club on another circuit, the Korn Ferry Tour, after carding a second round 59 at the 2024 Astara Golf Championship. That card included one eagle, 10 birdies and one bogey, which helped him finish in a tie for 20th place. In the same tournament, Chile's Cristobal del Solar carded a 57 in the first round.
The fourth-youngest player to shoot 61 or lower, just behind Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay and Nick Dunlap!
Highlights from Aldrich Potgieter's course record-tying 61 at Vidanta Vallarta. pic.twitter.com/Q3puEd5Zp3
There have been 15 sub-60 scores in PGA Tour history. The record is held by Jim Furyk, who shot a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship. Several sub-60 scores have also been reported on other leading tours, most recently Joaquin Niemann's 59 (Mayakoba, 2024) and Bryson DeChambeau's 58 (Greenbrier, 2023), both at LIV Golf.
Among women, only Annika Sorenstam's 59 has been reported. The Swedish golf legend carded it in the LPGA Tour's 2001 Standard Register PING.
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