For the second time in as many seasons, Aldrich Potgieter shot 61 or lower in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event.

Potgieter shot 10-under 61 in Friday’s second round at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. The talented South African shot 59 at the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard. Potgieter was the youngest player to shoot sub-60 when he did so on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Potgieter is the fourth-youngest player to shoot 61 or lower on the PGA TOUR since 1983. Tom Kim shot 61 (20 years, one month, 17 days) at the 2022 Wyndham Championship. Patrick Cantlay (19 years, three months, seven days) shot 60 at the 2011 Travelers Championship and Nick Dunlap (20 years, zero months, 28 days) shot 60 at the 2024 The American Express.

Potgieter had the opportunity to become the first player to shoot sub-60 on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR with his round Friday, but he parred the final two par-5s to fall a few shots short. Potgieter was 16-under through two rounds in Mexico, four shots clear of Stephan Jaeger through the morning wave.

"I knew on the back nine there was a couple of par 5s, three par 5s that I still had available to me, just tried to birdie those three and come up with a good score," Potgieter said. "Yeah, made some bonus birdies and didn't birdie the par 5s, which were unfortunate. Yeah, really happy with today."

Potgieter started modestly on Friday, just 1-under through four holes before a string of five straight birdies to close the front-nine in 6-under 29. Four of his six birdies came from putts outside 10 feet. Potgieter maintained momentum with an impressive par on the 10th after finding the water off the tee. He hit his third shot to 21 feet and drained the putt to stay bogey-free. After another par at 11, Potgieter made the 661-yard par-5 12th look obsolete. He hit his drive 331 yards, then found the green with his approach after hitting driver off the deck. He two-putted for another easy birdie.

"I've been practicing doing a drill on the driving range with teeing it really low and hitting it really good with the diver that way," Potgieter said. "I was telling my caddie, I was like 'let's just do the same thing.' It was a perfect number, so yeah, hit the perfect shot."

He holed a 20-foot birdie on the par-3 12th, then added birdies on 15 and 17 to reach the par-5 18th needing an eagle to shoot 59.

Potgieter, already the TOUR leader in Driving Distance as a rookie, found a fairway bunker with his tee shot but was able to muscle his approach to the greenside bunker, just over 60 feet from the hole. He scanned the bunker shot intently, walking over to the flag multiple times before setting up for his shot. He never gave the ball a chance, though, catching too much sand and leaving himself with a 23-foot birdie. His attempt to shoot 60 came up just short and he tapped in for 10-under 61.

"I was on a really uphill lie with really soft sand," Potgieter said of the greenside bunker shot, "so I was just trying to get something out and rolling towards the flag to about 6 foot and tried a look for a putt for birdie and yeah, left it a little short."

Potgieter, who won The Amateur Championship in 2022 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, quickly made a mark on the Korn Ferry Tour. After earning guaranteed starts as medalist at Q-School’s Second Stage in December 2023, he won The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club in 2024, becoming the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history at 19 years, four months, 11 days. Potgieter finished 29th in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to earn his TOUR card.

After Friday’s sterling performance, Potgieter is in pole position for his first PGA TOUR victory. He would be the fifth-youngest player to win a TOUR event since 1983.