The start may not have been how he’d dreamt it would go but PGA TOUR debutant Karl Vilips gave a glimpse of what’s to come with a spirited fightback at the Mexico Open.

In a week in which no Australian cracked a top-30 finish on either the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour or DP World Tour, Vilips’ tenacity to even make the cut at VidantaWorld was most noteworthy.

His long-awaited first start as a member of the PGA TOUR – a delay brought on by a back injury diagnosed late last year – began inauspiciously with a double bogey at his opening hole.

A round of 74 on day one made the cut-line a challenging goal, a goal he met resolutely with a superb 6-under 65 that featured a birdie and an eagle in his final four holes of Round 2.

Three double bogeys in a round of 5-over 76 was another reminder of the class of tournaments he is now playing but he again responded positively, posting 2-under 69 in the final round wearing the Tiger Woods Sun Day Red.

Veteran Aaron Baddeley’s tie for 34th led the way for the Aussies in Mexico while Stephanie Kyriacou was the highest-placed Australian at the Honda LPGA Thailand event, shooting 67 in the final round to climb into a tie for 45th.

Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

Results

PGA TOUR Mexico Open at VidantaWorld VidantaWorld, Vallarta, Mexico 1 Brian Campbell 65-65-64-70—264 $US1.26m Won on the second hole of sudden death playoff T34 Aaron Baddeley 67-69-68-71—275 $35,159 T72 Karl Vilips 74-65-76-69—284 $14,280 MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 68-72—140 LPGA Tour Honda LPGA Thailand Siam Country Club (Old Cse), Chonburi, Thailand 1 Angel Yin 67-64-64-65—260 $US255,000 T45 Stephanie Kyriacou 69-74-75-67—285 $7,378 T50 Gabriela Ruffels 68-73-72-73—286 $6,214 T65 Grace Kim 74-75-75-69—293 $4,027 DP World Tour Magical Kenya Open Muthaiga GC, Nairobi, Kenya 1 Jacques Kruyswijk 69-66-64-67—266 €405,187.35 T31 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 70-70-73-66—279 €17,518.39 MC Daniel Gale 72-73—145 MC Brett Coletta 73-73—146 MC Danny List 75-72—147