Aldrich Potgieter slept on the 54-hole lead at the 2025 Rocket Classic in Detroit after a third round in which he made five consecutive birdies (Nos. 4-8) and tied his longest consecutive birdie streak on the PGA Tour. It also marks his first time recording two rounds of 7-under or better in the same event on Tour (62/R1, 65/R3). Potgieter made his Tour debut at Detroit Golf Club two years when he just 18 years old.
“That was kind of a big step for me to come out here by myself with my caddie and kind of play some of these events. So it was a good learning curve. And I didn’t make the cut, so there was definitely a chip on my shoulder that I needed to get that done this week.”
He leads by two shots over five golfers, including Max Greyserman and Jake Knapp, with a lot on the line the final 18 holes in the Motor City.
Here are 5 more things to know (not counting this one. His name is pronounced: ALL-drick POT-gee-tur).
Young and the Restless
Potgieter is a native of South Africa and was born in Mossel Bay, where 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen grew up. Potgieter attended the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy before his family moved to Australia at a young age.
At age 17, Potgieter won the 2022 British Amateur Championship, becoming the second youngest winner in the history of the championship. He turned professional in 2023 and became the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history by winning The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in 2024, at age 19.
At 20 years, 9 months, 16 days on Sunday, he would become the seventh-youngest PGA Tour winner since the start of 1983, and would become the youngest Tour winner from South Africa since 1983, surpassing Garrick Higgo, who was 22 years, 1 month, 1 day old when he won the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree.
Bombs away
Potgieter isn’t just long off the tee – he’s the longest player on Tour. The 5-foot-10-inch, 210-pound South African leads all players in driving distance this season at 326.6, or a full six yards longer than No. 2 in the standings Rory McIlroy, and is 26 yards longer than the Tour average. Potgieter also led the Korn Ferry Tour in Driving Distance in 2024
“I think it just kind of came naturally. I haven’t done too much to get the distance that I got, it’s just kind of been given to me. So happy with it, and just trying to control it, that’s kind of the big thing we’re trying to work on,” he said this week. “Kind of did everything as a kid, didn’t just focus on golf, so that kind of helped me build that strong foundation at the start, and I think that happened at the right time during my growth spurt that it helped me a lot.”
Thanks to his with at the British Amateur, Potgieter earned an invitation to the 2023 Masters, where he was paired in the first two rounds with past champion Charl Schwartzel, who said of Potgieter’s prodigious length: “It’s incredible how far the guy hits the ball. It’s scary.”
An ace that was wild
Schwartzel wasn’t joking about Potgieter’s length. But for further proof, it’s worth re-telling the story of the 2023 John Deere Classic Monday qualifier at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. Potgieter not only drove the green at the 403-yard, par-4 17th hole, but his drive found the bottom of the cup for a rare ace on a par 4. He didn’t see the ball go into the hole and had no idea it was in until his caddie in the fairway ahead of him lost his mind.
Close but no cigar
Potgieter has been in position to win after 54 holes before on the PGA Tour this season. He stood solo third at 7 under through three rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open, two shots back of 54-hole leader Harris English. But the weather turned ugly and he didn’t handle it well, tumbling to a 78 and T-15 finish.
He fared better when he held the 54-hole lead at the Mexico Open in February. His short game was a bit spotty but he managed to post a final-round 71 to force a playoff with Brian Campbell. On the second playoff hole, Campbell hit a tee shot that was veering out of bounds, but his ball hit a tree and bounced back into play. Campbell then birdied the hole to defeat Potgieter and claim the title.
Potgieter missed seven of his next eight cuts after his runner-up finish, but finished T-6 in his most recent start at the Charles Schwab Challenge. For the season, the rookie entered the week having made just four cuts in 13 starts. He entered the week 73rd in the season-long FedEx Cup race and 123rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Mentored by a champion
Potgieter began to put American golf fans on notice of his abilities by winning the 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and competing on the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup team in Charlotte. In the latter, past Players Championship winner and two-time Tour champion Tim Clark served as captain of the International Team. Clark, a fellow South African, had spoken on the phone to the talented junior golfer but that week marked their first time meeting. Potgieter made a point to sit next to Clark every day on the team bus and soaked up as much knowledge from Clark as possible. Clark later welcomed Potgieter to his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, in early 2024, shortly after he failed to earn his Tour card at Final Stage of Q-School.
“I do believe this was a good thing for him in a way, and it gives him a big appreciation for what a lot of people go through to become a professional golfer,” Clark told PGA Tour.com in 2024.
Clark, who will be eligible for PGA Tour Champions next season after turning 50 in December, has continued to be a mentor figure for Potgieter. Perhaps a phone call ahead of Sunday’s final round in the Motor City may be just the thing to make sure all of Potgieter’s pistons are firing as he pursues his maiden Tour title.
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