Brian Campbell Wins One For Short Knockers, Potgieter Is An Electric Factory, And Spieth The Florida Man

The Mexico Open was drunk. Not drunk in a literal sense, like the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but drunk as in the golf was so mediocre that it was almost intoxicating, and undoubtedly a must-watch given the pure level of uncertainty with every shot.

A guy named Brian Campbell winning the golf tournament with the help of a tree was the perfect way to wrap up what could very well go down as the weirdest tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour season.

Aldrich Potgieter, the man Campbell somehow took down in a playoff, deserves plenty of attention as well, which we'll get to shortly.

Last, but not least, Jordan Spieth is in the field for this week's Cognizant Classic in Florida, which should deliver the goods. 

As always, feel free to reach out to me at mark.harris@outkick.com with thoughts, concerns, questions, and of course disagreements. If you'd rather yell at me on Twitter, you can find me @itismarkharris.

Brian Campbell: Big Tree Guy

It's incredible to think about the sheer number of golf fans who turned on Sunday's final round coverage in Mexico and were introduced to Brian Campbell for the very first time only to watch him hoist a trophy and cash in a $1.26 million check.

And full disclosure, I cover golf for a living, and this week was the first time I've ever seen Mr. Campbell hit a golf ball. The Mexico Open was just his 28th start on the PGA Tour, so the entire golf world gets a pass on not immediately recognizing the man's game.

Speaking of Campbell's game, the one word to describe it would be ‘short,’ which makes it that much more impressive that he's waking up on Monday a winner on the PGA Tour in the year 2025.

Campbell is last on Tour in driving distance averaging just 262 yards off the tee, and the gap between him and the second-shortest player entering the week was a full 15 yards. 

VidantaWorld, host of this week's Mexico Open, is the quintessential bomber's paradise, with most short players being completely written off at the start of the week given that the course played nearly 7,500 yards.

Campbell said the hell with that and plotted his way around the huge track with elite long-iron play and some stellar touch around the green. 

Like any player who wins on Tour, Campbell was also going to have to have a break or two fall his way, and his just so happened to come on the second playoff hole.

Playing the Par 5 18th, Campbell hit a nasty slice off the tee. It was one of those that you know it's heading out of bounds the second it leaves your club face, but luckily for Campbell, out of bounds down the right side of the hole was guarded by trees, and his golf ball just so happened to catch one and bounce back into play.

Campbell's drive ultimately traveled just 227 yards, and despite being outdriven by runner-up Aldrich Potgieter by nearly 100 yards off the tee on the deciding playoff hole, he managed to make birdie after knocking a 70-yard wedge shot to inside four feet.

Campbell may not be the most exciting player on the PGA Tour, but for a guy who has spent a decade chasing the dream and not finding any consistent success to go out and win while being out driven by every single player he plays with is some unbelievable stuff.

In a span of about 15 minutes on Sunday, Campbell thought he hit a tee shot out of bounds to lose a golf tournament. He was then standing over a three-foot birdie putt to lock up his Tour card and earn a spot in the Masters after hitting the most clutch wedge of his entire life.

What a game.

Aldrich Potgieter Delivered The Sunday Goods

Aldrich Potgieter may not have won on Sunday, but he successfully purchased some long-term real estate in the brains of most golf fans with his play in the final round, but it wasn't all stellar.

The 20-year-old South African who is built like the old fridge you have in your garage is rightfully known for absolutely mashing the golf ball. He leads the Tour in driving distance averaging 326.9 yards off the tee, and was dominant from the box throughout the week. 

During Friday's round, Potgieter was left with 326 yards into the beefy Par 5 12th hole and casually knocked his second shot inside 20 feet for a routine two-putt birdie. You can count the number of players on Earth who could manage that on one hand, and you probably don't even need five fingers.

While his driving was impressive all week, the rest of his game failed him on Sunday. He caught multiple chips a groove, or three, low and somehow stayed at the top of the leaderboard with some lengthy bogey saves.

The fact that he made par both times he and Campbell played the gettable Par 5 18th hole in the playoff tells the story of how he simply didn't have his best all-around stuff on Sunday.

Potgieter missing the green by 60 yards with iron in hand on the first playoff hole painted a clear, and also hilarious picture that encapsulates the week that was in Mexico.

Potgieter will find more consistency around the greens, and when that falls into place, he's going to be a problem for years to come.

Jordan Spieth The Florida Man

The Cognizant Classic - formerly the Honda Classic - will play host to The Jordan Spieth Experience this week.

Spieth will be making his first start ever in the event, and given that the host course PGA National is known for difficult tee shots, water balls, and big numbers, he should feel plenty uncomfortable, which is when he oddly seems most comfortable.

With Spieth coming off of a recent wrist surgery this past fall, he's looking to get back into the swing of things and test his game ahead of next month's Players and the Masters come April.  No better spot than The Cognizant to gauge where things are at.

Spieth picked up a T-4 finish at the Waste Management earlier this month, but has paired that with a missed cut at The Genesis and a T-69 finish at Pebble Beach. Getting back on some Bermuda grass in the Sunshine State may do the vibes and his flatstick a whole lot of good.

With the Florida Swing upon us and Masters commercials slowly starting to pop up on TV and across social media, we're slowly but surely approaching the best time of the year.