Twenty-year-old Aldrich Potgies fired a 10-under-pair 61 during the Mexico Open second round on Friday to open a four-shot advantage at VidaWorld in Vallarta, Mexico.
According to the tour, Potgies becomes the fourth youngest player who shoots 61 or better in a PGA Tour event. Only Patrick Cantlay, Nick Dunlap and South Korea’s Tom Kim make him beat.
Potgies, who won the prestigious amateur championship in the UK as a 17-year-old, is not a stranger to older performance. His short Friday consisted of 11 birdies and seven pairs, and pushed him to 16 under 126 for the week.
Germany’s Stephan Jaeger fired a 64 to move into a tie for others at 12 under Brian Campbell (65). Aaron Rai from England, the highest ranked player in the field (no. 29), also shortened a 64 to put fourth place at 11 below.
Ben Griffin (65), Akshay Bhatia (66) and Isaiah Salinda (67) are bound at 10 under.
Three players shared the lead first round, and none of them performed good Friday. Germany’s Jeremy Paul shot a 70 to move to 8 during the tournament. Norway’s crisis Ventura (71) remained at 7 under and Englishman Harry Hall (72) fell to 6 underneath.
Bledes Brown, a 17-year-old who became a professional in December, made his first cut as a professional (5 under). The defending champion Jake Knapp fought for a 72 Friday and made the cut on the number at 3 below.
Notable names to miss the average include South Korea’s KH Lee (2 under), Charley Hoffman (1 below), Kurt Kitayama (1 below) and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (1 over).
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