Detroit – Aldrich Potgieter ended the protracted Rockets classic, making an 18-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole to surpass Max Greyserman for his first PGA Tour Sunday.
“I finally got into trouble,” Borgit said after three players missed the chance on the green, the longest playoffs on the tour this season.
Before giving his father Heinrich a hug, he celebrates by hugging the caddies and shaking hands with Greyserman and his caddies.
The 20-year-old Potgieter is the youngest player on the tour and his biggest hitter, with an average of more than 326 yards from the tee. He became the ninth player to win for the first time this season.
Born in South Africa, Potgieter moved to Australia at the age of 8 and returned to South Africa at the age of 17 as the Covid-19 pandemic restricted his chances of playing.
“We had to give up a lot and move to Australia, move back,” he said. “Immigration is definitely not the easiest thing. I started my career and went into the United States alone, grinding it and making it a lot help here for my dad here.”
Potgieter won British amateurs at the age of 17 and became the youngest Cohen Ferry Tour champion last year, paving the way for him to become a second-year player in his second year, winning the PGA Tour through the minor leagues after his 20th birthday. The youngest is Jason Day, who was 19 in 2007.
Chris Kirk was eliminated after missing a 4-foot putt on the second playoff hole – this was in the Cup that pushed a 9-foot putt into the first extra hole and had a chance to win.
Greyserman and Potgieter both had a chance to win on the 72nd hole of the Detroit Golf Club but could not convert the birdie to break the tie at the 22-year-old.
“It’s going to sting a little bit,” Grethurman said.
Potgieter, who entered the game twice in front, closed with 3 shots below 69, with Greyserman and Kirk both shooting 67.
Greyserman missed a 12-foot putt and Potgieter fell on the 42-foot putt. That set Kirk had a chance to win, but he couldn’t take advantage of it. After Greyserman rises from 39-foot PAR and Potgieter from 20 feet, Kirk has a chance to win the game with a 9-foot putt, but only pushes it to the right of the Cup to extend the playoffs.
The three then entered the 3-158 yards and 15, while Greyserman was the only one who accurately got off the tee, but he didn’t take advantage of it.
This trend continued on the 4th 16-pointer, with both the Gray Green and the Boggit missing out on the 16-foot putter for a chance to win.
In the 1st 14-stroke match, Greyserman hit his 361 yards (his longest this week), only 2 yards behind Potgieter’s blast rate. Potgieter pulled the putter from 195 yards to 19 feet of approach. The Greyman eliminated twice from the 29-foot bird.
The second time in the playoffs was 15th, Greyserman was two feet tall and two feet before Potgieter finally finished the game.
“It’s not my time,” said Graceman, who finished second for the fourth time after his first PGA Tour victory.
Michael Thorbjornsen (67) and Jake Knapp (68) had a stroke in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa is still waiting to end his drought.
He finished eighth and eighth with 68. The two-time major champion is the fifth-ranked player in the world and has won the PGA Tour since October 2023 at the Zozo Championship in Japan.
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley finished seventh in the world after winning the Travelers title last week, ending 41st with 67 points.
