Milestone watch: what amateur Kihei Akina can win on the Mexico Open weekend

Kihei Akina tees off in the final group of the VidantaWorld Mexico Open on Saturday, three shots behind Andrew Novak. He is a 20-year-old BYU sophomore playing on a sponsor exemption, and his 67-64 start has him tied for second at 11 under with Matthieu Pavon, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Ben Griffin and Kensei Hirata.

That 36-hole spot is already a mark of sorts. MintzGolf noted it is the best position by an amateur through two rounds on the PGA Tour this season.

Here is what else is within reach for him this weekend, ranked from the biggest swing to the smallest.

1. An amateur win and a Tour card on the spot

Nick Dunlap was the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour, at The American Express in 2024. The PGA Tour's Paul Hodowanic pointed out that a win at Vidanta Vallarta would let Akina skip the PGA Tour University points system entirely, the same way Dunlap did. He would need to make up three shots on Novak, who shot 61 on Friday.

2. A 13th Accelerated point and a start next week

Making the cut on Friday earned Akina his 12th PGA Tour University Accelerated point. Twenty points gets a player straight onto the PGA Tour. According to the PGA Tour, finishing in the top 10 this week would add a 13th point and get him into next week's World Wide Technology Championship.

Only three players have earned cards through the Accelerated pathway: Jackson Koivun, Luke Clanton and Gordon Sargent. Clanton and Sargent are both in this week's field fighting for their FedEx Cup Fall status, and Akina told PGATOUR.COM he went to Clanton for advice.

"He was in a similar position," Akina said. "It would be cool to kind of do what he did."

3. Another top-10 finish

His only top 10 on Tour so far came at the Bank of Utah Championship. He followed it with a tie for 17th in Bermuda last week.

4. A perfect cut record

Akina has made the cut in all five of his PGA Tour starts this year. That streak is already safe for this week, so the next test comes in his next start.

5. A run of low scores

The AP counted Friday's 64, which he finished by chipping in for birdie on the 18th, as his ninth round of 67 or lower in his last four Tour events. The run goes back to the sponsor exemption he got at the Wyndham Championship.

The Accelerated math has a second lever. Up to five points come from the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Akina is No. 9, outside the top five, so he has built most of his total from Tour finishes. He also has points from his Outstanding Freshman award and his Walker Cup and Palmer Cup selections.

How to watch

Akina plays with Novak and Pavon at 11:51 a.m. local time (1:51 p.m. ET). Golf Channel's third-round coverage starts at 4 p.m. ET.