Aldrich Potgieter

Four years ago Aldrich Potgieter became the second youngest-ever winner of The Amateur Championship at the age of 17.

That was at Royal Lytham and St Annes and the victory not only gave him an Open spot at St Andrews, but also the chance to play in the following year’s Masters and US Open.

In 2026 he was one of 12 players competing to earn a Royal Birkdale place at the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier - and while he was unsuccessful, he did claim his Open place as first reserve when Louis Oosthuizen withdrew a few hours later.

Potgieter’s first PGA Tour victory came in June 2025 at the Rocket Classic, where he began with a 10-under-par 62 and with an 18-foot birdie putt beat Max Greyserman at the fourth hole of a play-off which initially also involved Chris Kirk.

Aged 21, the South African leapt from 123rd in the world to 49th as a result, earning a place at Royal Portrush off the world rankings a week later. It also took him into the top 20 of the FedEx Cup standings.

It was so nearly his second title – in February 2025 he lost a play-off for the Mexico Open to Brian Campbell.

He also won The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in 2024 and his best finish at a major came at this year’s PGA Championship when he placed T35.