One thing about South Africa’s latest golf prodigy Aldrich Potgieter that can’t be disputed, is that he’s a quick learner.
Potgieter’s been successful at every level of golf he’s played, and that was best demonstrated over the weekend as he became the second youngest player to earn a US PGA Tour card, via the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) moneylist.
Though not fully-formed just yet, it seems he’s picking an American accent rather quickly.
The 20-year-old Potgieter finished 29th on the KFT moneylist, with the top-30 earning playing privileges for next season on the PGA Tour. The KFT is the secondary golf tour in the USA.
A fight to the finish.
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) October 5, 2024
Aldrich Potgieter needs a strong Sunday to stay inside the top 30 and move up to the @PGATOUR. pic.twitter.com/pT8UvK9y9H
Making headlines
Having turned 20 last month, Potgieter already made headlines on the KFT when he became the youngest winner in the tour’s history at 19 years, four months and 11 days when he won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.
Though he was born in Mossel Bay, like fellow SA golfer Louis Oosthuizen, he moved to Perth at a young age.
There he won the South Australian Junior Masters in 2020, before following that up with the Western Australian Amateur the next year. In 2022, he returned to SA to clean up at the SA Junior International, SA Boys Under-19 Championship and the Western Province Amateur titles.
Potgieter’s crowning glory came at the 2022 Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes which saw him earn exemption into The Open Championship later that year and the 2023 Masters.
Since turning professional in June last year, he has played most of his golf on the KFT in the USA. Given his upbringing in Australia, a less-distinct SA accent could be expected, but now it seems he is developing a distinctively American twang.
Ultimately, the way he speaks doesn’t really matter as his clubs will do the talking for him - let’s just hope the “lekker” results keep coming.