{"id":948321,"date":"2026-11-01T03:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T03:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948321\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T03:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T03:48:13","slug":"novak-goes-low-again-to-open-up-six-shot-lead-in-mexico-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948321\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak goes low again to open up six-shot lead in Mexico \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Novak built a comfortable lead at the turn then poured it on by going five-under-par on the first five holes of the back nine on his way to a nine-under 62 to build a six-shot lead at the Mexico Open.<\/p>\n

About the only thing Novak did wrong at Vidanta Vallarta \u00a0on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) was losing the handle on a club twirl at the par-5 12th while admiring a 279-yard shot that settled 20 feet away for an eagle.<\/p>\n

That was part of his sublime stretch of three birdies and an eagle that stretched his lead to as many as seven shots. It was such a great day for Novak that even when he had a lie in the rough with a golf ball well below his feet, he hammered that out to six feet on the 14th for a birdie.<\/p>\n

Sorcery from 169 yards! Andrew Novak makes this spooky downhill lie look easy for another birdie at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. \ud83d\udcfa Golf Channel https:\/\/t.co\/mR4jy8pwOu<\/p>\n

\u2014 PGA Tour (@PGATour) October 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Novak was at 23-under 190, primed for his first individual title on the PGA Tour. His only other victory was teaming with Ben Griffin in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last year.<\/p>\n

The American had the low round of the day while playing in the last group, and goes into the final round coming off scores of 61 and 62.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery much the same, maybe a little sloppy at the end,\u201d Novak said of the two rounds. \u201cBut the putter saved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He holed a six-foot par on the 16th and made a 10-foot par putt on the 17th after coming up short.<\/p>\n

Andrew Novak is feeling it! Novak rolls in the eagle putt to extend his lead to SIX at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. \ud83d\udcfa Golf Channel https:\/\/t.co\/BUIRSfYETi<\/p>\n

\u2014 PGA Tour (@PGATour) October 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Frenchman Matthieu Pavon birdied his last two holes for a 65 to get within six shots. American Doug Ghim had a 64 and was another shot behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes it easier for me to be in my own bubble because I know that something significant would probably need to happen for me to have a chance tomorrow,\u201d Ghim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pavon needs something special, too, though he already is having a good week if he can hold his position. His two-year exemption from winning at Torrey Pines in 2024 runs out this year. Pavon came to the Mexico Open at No.140 in the FedEx Cup. A runner-up finish would move him just inside the top 100.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s Karl Vilips was in a tie for 26th place at nine under. The first-round leader after opening with a 62, Vilips fell back after a second-round 74, before firing a three-under 68 on Saturday to trail Novak by 14 shots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Novak built a comfortable lead at the turn then poured it on by going five-under-par on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,405163,11298,85],"class_list":["post-948321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-overseas-sport","tag-south-america","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}