Golf has taken Brian Campbell for a ride over the last decade.
The 31-year-old was a top amateur at the University of Illinois a decade ago. He turned pro in 2015 and quickly raced through the Korn Ferry Tour to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2016-17 season. But professional golf punched Campbell in the mouth. He finished 180th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2017 and lost his card. Campbell has been grinding away on the Korn Ferry Tour for years.
He had good years, like when he finished 30th in the KFT points standings in 2019 and just missed a PGA Tour card by five spots. He has also had his share of struggles. Campbell finished 98th on the KFT points list in the 2020-21 season and lost his exempt status. He made just three starts in 2022 but kept chopping and rediscovered his form last season when he finished seventh on the points list and earned his way back to the PGA Tour.
All of that led to this week at the 2025 Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, where Campbell put on his best performance in his PGA Tour career.
After shooting a bogey-free 64 on Saturday, Campbell entered Sunday’s final round just one shot back of 54-hole leader Aldrich Potgieter. It was the first time in his PGA Tour career that he entered the final round in the top five.
“Awesome,” Campbell said about putting himself in contention to win on Saturday. “I mean, it’s what dreams are made of. This is why I’ve worked so hard to get back here. It’s a blessing to be here this quickly, but I’m just enjoying the moment and going to continue to do what I’ve been doing this week tomorrow and see where it takes us.”
Campbell’s Sunday was the stuff of storybook legends. He tracked down Potgieter and finally beat the young South African on the second playoff hole with the help of an extremely lucky bounce off a tree.
Luckiest break ever?!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 23, 2025
Brian Campbell's ball bounces off the trees and stays in bounds on the second playoff hole! pic.twitter.com/KWBMbGtaKE
A win at the 2025 Mexico Open comes with all the perks of winning a PGA Tour event (two-year exemption, a spot in the Players, a spot in the Masters, a spot in the PGA Championship, etc.) and a $1.26 million check.
Check out how much every player made Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta below:
How much every player made at the 2025 Mexico Open
(Final payouts will be updated upon conclusion of the final round)
1. Brian Campbell $1.26 million
2. Aldrich Potgieter $763,000
3. Isaiah Salinda $483,000
T4. Aaron Rai $315,000
Ben Griffin $315,00
T6. Joel Dahmen $245,000
Stephan Jaeger $245,000
8. Nicolai Hojgaard $218,750
9. Akshay Bhatia $204,750
T10. Alex Smalley $176,750
Alejandro Tosti $176, 750
Ryo Hisatsune $176, 750
T13. Danny Walker $133,000
Henrik Norlander $133,000
Michael Kim $133,000
Justin Hastings $133,000
T17. Chan Kim $89,775
Ryan Gerard $89,775
Greyson Sigg $89,775
Jose Luis Ballester Barrio $89,775
Joe Highsmith $89,775
John Pak $89,775
Steven Fisk $89,775
Kevin Roy $89,775
T25. Kris Ventura $53,783
Lanto Griffin $53,783
Jeremy Paul $53,783
Jake Knapp $53,783
Max McGreevy $53,783
Ben Kohles $53,783
Patrick Rodgers $53,783
T32. Takumi Kanaya $42,700
Quade Cummins $42,700
T34. Rasmus Hojgaard $32,040
Sami Valimaki $32,040
Taylor Moore $32,040
Rafael Campos $32,040
Niklas Norgaard $32,040
Aaron Baddeley $32,040
Jacob Bridgeman $32,040
Blades Brown $32,040
Chandler Phillips $32,040
Chad Ramey $32,040
Harry Hall $32,040
T45. Ben Martin $21,420
Kevin Yu $21,420
Hayden Springer $21,420
Taylor Montgomery $21,420
T49. Francesco Molinari $17,453
Jesper Svensson $17,453
Andrew Putnam $17,453
Thorbjorn Olesen $17,453
Noah Goodwin $17,453
Jonathan Byrd $17,453
T55. Ricky Castillo $16,240
Frankie Capan III $16,240
Scott Piercy $16,240
Antoine Rozner $16,240
T59. Erik van Rooyen $15,680
Sam Ryder $15,680
Thirston Lawrence $15,680
Adam Svensson $15,680
T63. Matt McCarty $15,260
Fred Biondi $15,260
T65. Emiliano Grillo $14,910
Mason Andersen $14,910
Santiago de la Fuente $14,910
T68. Peter Malnati $14,420
C.T. Pan $14,420
Matteo Manassero $14,420
Thomas Rosenmueller $14,420
T72. Karl Vilips $14,000
Victor Perez $14,000
74. Harry Higgs $13,790
75. Vincent Norrman $13,659
T76. David Lipsky $13,440
Riley Lewis $13,440
