Vallarta, Mexico – Brian Campbell made money on a huge breakout Sunday when his serving bounced out of the playoffs, bounced from the tree and re-energized, leading to the 1st installment in the 1st installment Two extra holes won a birdie, winning Mexico on Aldrich Potgieter.
Campbell finished with a 70-under 1 shot at Vidanta Vallarta, the first time he has since turned around a decade ago and couldn’t have been better.
The victory led him to the Masters, Player Championship and PGA Championship, and five of the remaining $20 million signature events on the PGA Tour.
“It’s really unreal to be in this position,” the 31-year-old Campbell said after calmly pouring a birdie putt into the 18th green 4 feet to win. “I can’t believe it.”
Good golf is not enough. Campbell needs a lifetime of rest.
Campbell and Potgieter shot 71, each of whom was supervising the 18th birdie and started the playoffs on par. Campbell returned to the 5-shot closed hole for the third time (a big advantage for the 20-year-old South African), and Campbell hit a low, hard fade out toward the out-of-the-ground bet.
But it fell into the trees and popped back into the rough place. He is still 94 yards behind Potgieter, but at least he has a shot. He hit the fairway metal at a short 68 yards and hit a lobe that was not far from the hole.
“Sometimes you have to take a break,” Campbell said. “Unfortunately, I played a really bad tee there, grabbed the tree, was able to keep it working and put myself in a good position to get Wedge and maintain pressure.
“I’m so glad to stay until the end.”
Potgieter made a par twice in the playoffs with a second shot of 6. The first time was the hardship of green. On the second playoff hole, he poses on a perfect line until his feet are short and enters the bunker.
He blew up about 6 feet, missed the birdie putt on the left, setting the moment Campbell once looked so far away.
He won 186 games in the total combined Korn Ferry and the PGA Tour, earning $1,487,830. His Sunday return was $1,260,000.
Potgieter started the final round with a single shot, landing two bogeys, ending the first nine games, hitting Campbell with a great up and down shot on 14-5-14-point shot. They each made a bogey in and finished at 264 under 20.
Potgieter, who was leading the distance, failed to capitalize in a 5-5-closed hole after hitting the fairway every time.
“Hopefully my time will come soon.” Potgieter said he won the 2022 British amateur at the age of 17, becoming the youngest victory Korn Ferry Tour won last year.
“Super stress is a big deal,” he said. “You can’t beat it. You just have to learn and adjust the next time.”
Isaiah Salinda finished with a bogey-free 65 and finished alone in third place. Aaron Rai, the world’s highest-ranking player, briefly shared a leading lead, taking the 20-inch Eagles in the sixth-shot six. He has only one of the remaining 67 years old and tied for fourth (67) with Ben Griffin.
Campbell said the courage helped him win, which was further away than Sunday.
He played college golf in Illinois and was a down-and-out amateur at the Chambers Bay Open in 2015. He received a PGA Tour card in 2017 and missed 13 layoffs in 20 games. One of them is the classic in Zurich, where he was punished for playing slowly in a special ruling, as it also involved his partner, Miguel Angel Carballo.
Then returned to the minor leagues over the next seven years until he finished three runner-up and ranked 8th on the Korn Ferry Tour to get the rift again on the PGA Tour.
The victory gave him two waivers until 2027, when his legacy with Arnold Palmer Invitational, Player Championship, Masters and RBC were busy on his schedule.
