Jake Knapp, a PGA Tour newcomer, shot a stunning 63 in the third round of the Mexico Open at Vidanta on Saturday, February 24th, breaking the course record and matching the tournament record.

The 29-year-old American, who is playing in only his ninth PGA Tour event, made seven birdies on the front nine for a 7-under 28, the lowest nine-hole score in the history of the event.

He added four more birdies on the back nine, including two on the last two holes, to finish with 11 birdies and three bogeys for the day. His 19-under 194 total tied the mark set by Tony Finau, who won the title last year.

Knapp, who is ranked 101st in the world, opened up a four-shot lead over Finland’s Sami Valimaki, another rookie who carded a 67. Canada’s Ben Silverman, Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and American Chan Kim were tied for third at 14-under, seven strokes behind the leader.

Knapp, who shared the 36-hole lead at 11-under, started his round with a birdie blitz, holing putts from close range on the first two holes and from long distance on the fourth and fifth. He drove the green on the seventh and made another birdie, then hit a superb tee shot on the ninth and tapped in for his seventh birdie of the front nine.

He said he kept his focus and confidence as he surged ahead of the field.

“I just told myself to keep doing what I’ve been doing, stick to the process, keep hitting good shots and giving myself chances,” he said. “I’ve been striking the ball well and today some putts dropped as well.”

Knapp, who had his best PGA Tour finish with a tie for third at Riviera earlier this month, has three wins on a Canadian developmental tour and said he would draw on his previous experience to handle the pressure of the final round.

“I’ve been playing professional golf for a while and I’ve had my ups and downs,” he said. “I have some good memories from (Riviera) and also from the Korn Ferry and Canadian tours, so I’ll use all of that tomorrow.”

Knapp showed his resilience on the back nine, bouncing back from each of his three bogeys with a birdie on the next hole. He made a clutch putt to save bogey on the 10th after hitting his tee shot way left and taking a penalty drop. He then birdied the 11th and 12th from 11 feet.

He dropped shots on the 14th and 16th after missing short par putts, but recovered with a 14-foot birdie on the 17th and a two-putt birdie on the 18th to cap off his remarkable round.

Valimaki, who has two wins on the DP World Tour, birdied the last hole to join Knapp in the final pairing on Sunday.

A group of four players were tied for sixth at 13-under, including England’s Matt Wallace, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, American Justin Lower and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen.