Mexico Open: England's Aaron Rai in contention as Aldrich Potgeiter leads PGA Tour event

England's Aaron Rai remains in the hunt for a second win on the PGA Tour heading into the final round of the Mexico Open.

The 29-year-old, who claimed a maiden win on US soil at last year's Wyndham Championship, sits six shots behind South African power hitter Aldrich Potgieter, who holds the lead at Vidanta Vallarta.

Potgieter opened the day with a four-shot lead and went round in 67 on Saturday to sit atop the leaderboard at 20 under and hold a one-shot advantage over playing partner Brian Campbell, who carded a bogey-free 64.

• Golf leaderboards: PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA and more
• Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺

Germany's Stephen Jaeger is three strokes off the pace with American Alex Smalley a further two back, while Rai, the highest-ranked player in the field, shot a three-under-par 68 to sit six shots back in a tie for fifth with American Ben Griffin.

Potgieter, who won the Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2022, was leading by three shots with two holes left in the third round when he badly missed his tee shot to the right on the par-three 17th, the ball settling in some bushes. He managed to punch that out into the grass, then hit a beautiful pitch to save bogey.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

On the par-five 18th, Potgieter came up well short with a seven-iron on his second shot after another big drive. From a waste area, he went just over the back of the green, chipped to a front pin and had to make a five-foot putt for par.

Campbell finished with a birdie for a 64 to get within one shot as both go for their first PGA Tour title and a trip to the Masters.

"Besides the last two holes, it was really good," Potgieter said. "Brian was having a great round so I tried to just stay a little bit ahead of him. All three of us played pretty decent golf. It got a little tough throughout the day with the wind a little bit, some pin placements were a little bit more tough so didn't make as many putts today, but we'll save it for tomorrow."

He would love nothing more than a return to Augusta National, where he played in 2023 as the British Amateur champion. Potgieter earned his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour, which featured one win early and a round of 59 in Colombia - something he almost matched earlier this week.

Potgieter's firepower - particularly his length - is what has kept him in front at Vidanta Vallarta, a course with five par fives and plenty of room off the tee. He has led the field in driving distance all three days, checking in 329.4 yards for his average on Saturday.

Jaeger, who held off Scottie Scheffler to win the Houston Open last year, drove into the water on the reachable par-four seventh hole after getting within one shot of Potgieter. He made bogey, a two-shot swing when the South African made birdie, and Jaeger did well to finish within three shots at the end of the round.

Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland

Enter Course, City, or Postal Code

Search

"Obviously, the bogey on seven kind of hurt. That's kind of one that hit a good drive, it's pretty much automatic birdie so kind of a two shot swing there," Jaeger said. "Other than that, I gave myself some nice looks, hit a bunch of lips, but I'm in a great spot tomorrow."

The stakes on Sunday are high for the players in the leading group with more than just a trip to the Masters at stake. The winner also gets in The Players Championship and the PGA Championship, along with five of the remaining $20m signature events.

Jaeger, though, is already in from his top-50 finish in the FedEx Cup last year while Rai will play alongside Smalley and Griffin on Sunday as he aims to add a second win on the PGA Tour to his increasingly impressive resume.

Watch the fourth round of the Mexico Open on Sunday live on Sky Sports Golf from 2pm, and from Sky Sports Main Event at 8pm. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.