Aldrich Potgieter wins 2025 Rocket Classic from Detroit

Aldrich Potgieter (YouTube)

Aldrich Potgieter of Pretoria, South Africa won the 2025 Rocket Classic in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday. It was a notable win for three seasons. Potgieter became the youngest player to win on the PGA Tour this season, at 20 years and 289 days old. He was also the youngest golfer ever from South Africa to win a PGA Tour event, and by beating Americans Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman in five playoff holes, it was the longest playoff of the 2025 season.

The previous youngest player on the PGA Tour this season to win was Karl Vilips of Australia, who won the Puerto Rico Open in March at the age of 23. The youngest South African to ever win on the PGA Tour prior to Potgeiter was Garrick Higgo of Johannesburg, according to Enrique Mellado and Patrick Spencer of marca.com.  Higgo was only 22 years old when he won the 2021 Palmetto Championship.

This was the second three-man playoff of the season (the first was won by Ryan Fox of New Zealand at the Myrtle Beach Classic). The previous longest playoff of 2025 was four holes at the Canadian Open (also won by Fox). This was the second playoff for Potgieter this year as he lost to Brian Campbell of the United States at the Mexico Open in February.

On Sunday, Potgieter finished his round with a score of -22. He beat Americans Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman in the playoff. Kirk was eliminated on the second hole with a bogey. Potgieter and Greyserman parred the first three holes of the playoff before both recording a birdie on the fourth playoff hole. Potgieter then birdied the fifth playoff hole.

Potgieter had a first round score of 10-under-par 62, a second round score of two-under-par 70, a third round score of seven-under-par 65, and a fourth round score of three-under-par 69. Potgieter had one eagle in the tournament. It came on the 17th hole in the first round.

Nine other golfers were in contention. Americans Michael Thorbjornsen and Jake Knapp were tied for fourth place at -21. Colombia’s Nico Echacarria and American Jackson Suber were tied for sixth place at -20. There was then a five-way tie for eighth place at -19. Those three strokes back were England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, Americans Andrew Putnam, Collin Morikawa, and Kevin Roy, and South Africa’s Triston Lawrence. Of the five golfers in eighth were two major champions. Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open. Fitzpatrick won the 2022 United States Open.

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