Andrew Novak extends lead to six strokes at Mexico Open

Andrew Novak shot a 62 on Saturday at Vidanta Vallarta in Mexico, extending his lead in the Mexico Open to six strokes.

The 23-year-old finished three rounds at 23 under par with a total score of 190. His performance puts him in position to win his first individual title on the PGA Tour. Novak previously won a team event with Ben Griffin at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last year.

Novak played the final nine holes with a score of 5 under par. He recorded three birdies and one eagle during that stretch. His only notable error occurred on the 12th hole, a par 5. A 279-yard drive stopped 20 feet from the hole for an eagle attempt.

On the 14th hole, Novak hit a ball from the rough that was positioned below his feet. He struck it hard and left himself a 6-foot putt for birdie. He also sank a 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th and a 10-foot par putt on the 17th after a short approach.

“Very similar, maybe a little scrappy at the end,” Novak said regarding his last two rounds. “But the putter saved me.”

Matthieu Pavon of France finished second with a 65. He birdied his final two holes to move to 17 under par. Doug Ghim shot a 64 to place 16 under par, one stroke behind Pavon. Ghim acknowledged the difficulty of catching Novak.

“It makes it easier for me to be in my own bubble because I know that probably something major would have to happen for me to have a chance tomorrow,” Ghim said. “I will do my best to put some pressure on and see what happens.”

Pavon enters the final round with a two-year exemption expiring this year. He ranked 140th in the FedEx Cup before the tournament. A second-place finish would move him just inside the top 100.

Kihei Akina, a 20-year-old sophomore at BYU, shot a 68 to tie for seventh at 14 under par. He recovered from an opening bogey-bogey start. A top-10 finish would award him an additional point in the PGA Tour University program.

Novak has committed only three bogeys in 54 holes. He said he did not expect to follow a low round with another low score.

“I wanted to back up a very low round with another low one, but normally I don’t expect that,” Novak said. “Usually you expect there to be some margin, and you just have to be patient the next day. Today I still came out attacking, I was throwing darts, making putts, and trying not to get in my own way.”