15 Things You Didn't Know About Aldrich Potgieter

Aldrich Potgieter turned professional in the summer of 2023 but here are some things you may not know about him

Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa hits a tee shot on the fifth hole during the first round of The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Aldrich Potgieter is a professional golfer who competes on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour. The South African turned professional in the summer of 2023 and has a prestigious amateur career, including victory at the 2022 Amateur Championship,

Get to know him better with these 15 facts.

Aldrich Potgieter FACTS:

1. Potgieter was born in Mossel Bay on September 13, 2004.

2. Potgieter's home town of Mossel Bay is a place closely associated with fellow South African professional Louis Oosthuizen. In fact, as a youngster, he attended the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy.

3. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall.

4. In 2019, he was ranked as low as 6,000th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking before winning the South Australian Junior Masters by nine strokes the next year.

5. In 2021, Potgieter won the Western Australian Amateur and finished second in the Australian Boys’ Amateur.

6. Potgieter's big breakthrough came in 2022 when he became the second youngest winner of the Amateur Championship.

Aldrich Potgieter kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 R&A Amateur Championship

Aldrich Potgieter won the 2022 Amateur Championship

(Image credit: Getty Images)

7. The South African beat England’s Sam Bairstow 3&2 in the 36-hole final at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

8. He became only the third South African to triumph after Jovan Rebula at Royal Aberdeen in 2018 and Bobby Cole at Carnoustie in 1966.

9. Potgieter's best finish at a Major came at the 2023 US Open where he finished 64th.

10. Potgieter topped the driving distances at Los Angeles Country Club that week, averaging a mammoth 336 yards off the tee.

11. He turned professional shortly after his performance at the US Open in June 2023.

Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa poses with the trophy after winning The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Cub on January 24, 2024 in Great Abaco, The Bahamas.

Potgieter captured his first professional win in January 2024

(Image credit: Getty Images)

12. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in June 2023 although failed to make the cut.

13. In July 2023, Potgieter achieved a rare golfing feat after he made a par 4 hole-in-one while competing at the Monday qualifier for the John Deere Classic.

14. Potgieter won for the first time as a professional in January 2024 when he won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour.

15. The win also made the South African the youngest winner in Korn Ferry history, surpassing the previous record set by Jason Day.

How far does Aldrich Potgieter hit the ball?

Potgieter is know for his remarkable driving distance. On the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, the South African averaged a whopping 355.7 yards off the tee.

Ben Fleming
Contributor

Ben joined Golf Monthly having completed his NCTJ in multimedia sports journalism at News Associates, London. He is now a freelance journalist who also works for The Independent, Metro, UEFA and Stats Perform.