21-year-old Aldrich Potgieter impressed on his first season on the PGA Tour, but is yet to make a mark on the major stage.
The young South African star exploded onto the scene as the longest-hitter on tour last year, and he won the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club in a three-way playoff.
However in five major appearances, Potgieter has only made the cut once at the 2023 US Open, where he finished 64th. He came in third-to-last at The Masters after an opening round 84, looking completely out of his depth.
Potgieter has bounced back brilliantly at the PGA Championship, however, and he did something in his opening round which hasn’t been achieved since 1999.
Aldrich Potgieter is the youngest player to lead a major after any round since Sergio Garcia
Potgieter mastered the difficult conditions at Aronimink to post an opening-round 67, which gives him a seven-way share of the lead through 18 holes. He’s tied with the likes of Scottie Scheffler through Thursday’s play.
And at 21 years old, Potgieter became the youngest player to hold a share of the lead after any round at the PGA Championship since Sergio Garcia in 1999, when the Spaniard was aged 19. That’s esteemed company for the South African.
Potgieter showed plenty of promise in his first season on tour, but this is the first sign that he can perform with the best players on the planet on difficult golf courses.
But there are signs that this house of cards is about to come crashing down.
Why Aldrich Potgieter’s opening round is unsustainable
Potgieter’s opening round can be almost solely attributed to his play on the greens. He gained 5.20 strokes to the field with his putting, which leads all players at the PGA Championship.
Potgieter has been a below-average putter on the PGA Tour this year, so on these incredibly difficult greens at Aronimink, expect him to come back down to earth sooner rather than later.
And judging by how many issues the rough around the greens has given players, Potgieter is sure to struggle in that department too. Chipping is the big weakness in his game, so if he finds himself in tricky spots around the greens this tournament, it could be a scorecard ruiner.
He’s done brilliantly well at 21 years old to get to the top of the leaderboard, but diving into the numbers, that isn’t sustainable for him.
