Garrick Higgo delivered a stunning performance at the El Cardonal course in Diamante, Mexico, shooting an 11-under 61 on Saturday. This stomach-churning round established a new low score for his PGA Tour career. It tied the overall course record! With this accomplishment, Higgo earned himself a one-stroke lead over Carson Young. Now, he’s poised to do the same in the final round of the World Wide Technology Championship.
Higgo’s round got off to a great start, as he chipped in for eagle on the par-5 first hole. He displayed his world class talent on the front nine. He started his back nine with five straight birdies and made the turn in a blistering 7-under 29. Continuing his spectacular play on the back nine, he made a further four birdies. He finished his round with a final birdie on the par-5 18th hole. With this terrific performance, he moved his overall total score for the tournament to 22-under 194.
The 29-year-old South African is the sixth player to ever shoot a round of 61 on the El Cardonal course. He claimed victory again at the Corales Puntacana Championship in April. On top of that, he returned stellar results with a T7 at Silverado and a 2nd place at Mississippi. This was déjà vu for Higgo, who nearly won this tournament last year, finishing second in a playoff.
Digging into his tournament winning performance, Higgo said, “Just repeating a lot of the same stuff.” He acknowledged his strong game by saying, “Hit it great, made a lot of good putts and chipped in once.”
In the meantime, Carson Young continues to be a strong contender on the course. His goal now is to maintain his momentum while remaining calm, as he chases Higgo’s lead by just one stroke. “Just keep doing what I’m doing and just focus on playing my game and not looking at the leaderboard too much or worrying about others,” Young remarked, emphasizing his strategy for the final round.
Young’s enthusiasm from the day prior overflowing, as he looks down the last day of competition. I was looking forward to it because I had a great year last year, including second place here last year, losing on one in a playoff. Almost seems like payback at this point to have him in the last group again. He added, “I’m looking forward to seeing if my own personal ceiling is going to let me break through.”
As the two golfers prepare for the final round, the spotlight is on Higgo. He intends to turn his slight lead into a win, and Young wants to recover from a disastrous outing last year. That final round is sure to be an exciting finish to what has been a very competitive tournament.
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