Andrew Novak continued his blistering pace, carding a 9-under-par 62 on Saturday and extending his lead to six strokes after three rounds of the VidantaWorld Mexico Open in Vallarta, Mexico.
Novak backed up his course-record-tying 10 under 61 on Friday to reach 23-under 190 after 54 holes.
France’s Matthieu Pavon fired his second 65 of the week to get to 17 under and solo second place. Doug Ghim posted a 64 and is alone in third place at 16 under, while Pierceson Coody (64), Max Greyserman (66) and Ben Griffin (67) are tied for fourth at 15 under.
Novak, 31, is seeking his first individual PGA Tour victory. Ironically, he teamed with Griffin to win the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last season.
For the second consecutive day, Novak scorched the back nine. He went 5 under each day, but avenged a Friday bogey at the 610-yard par-5 12th hole by recording an eagle on Saturday. He pounded a 333-yard drive to the right edge of the fairway, hit his approach 277 yards to the middle of the green and sank a 20-foot putt to reach 21 under par.
Novak continued to dominate all the putting statistics on Saturday and leads the field with 128 feet, 5 inches of putts made through three rounds.
“You want to back up a really low round with something low, but you don’t usually expect that,” Novak said. “You expect usually there’s going to be some give, and you’ve just got to be patient with it the next day. I still kind of came out firing today, was throwing some darts, making putts and trying to stay out of my own way.”
The day did not start well for Pavon, who bogeyed the first hole, dropping behind Novak by five strokes. The Frenchman was only 1 under through seven holes, but drove the green on the 287-yard par-4 13th hole and converted a 46-foot putt for eagle. He gave one of those strokes right back with a bogey on the next hole, but finished birdie-birdie to keep himself within shouting distance of Novak.
“Yeah, it’s funny like birdieing the last two, like strongest holes on the course, it’s just when you expect it the less, sometimes it comes the most,” said Pavon. “It was just like good shots, just like really focusing on every shot, trying to be at the right place on the greens and on the fairway, and ended up with making two nice putts. That’s just a very nice momentum and very positive stuff for tomorrow.”
Ghim is in a good position to finish the year in the Top 60, which grants players access to the first two signature events of 2027.
“It felt like I kind of put myself into locking up my card for next year and then kind of on the bubble again for the (top) 60,” said Ghim. “So just being able to kind of quiet the outside noise and just go do what I know that I can do.”
Novak knows the forgiving nature of the course and that, even with a sizable lead, he needs to finish strong to earn his first individual title.
“That would be very big,” said Novak. “And then obviously there’s implications for, what, 2028 and beyond. Yeah, it would be huge. Unless you’re Scottie or Rory, you don’t get to win a ton in golf so any opportunity to do so is pretty nice.”
