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One-time PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman reacted to Aldrich Potgieter's performance in the first round of the 2025 Rocket Classic. The South African golfer teed it up in Detroit, and took the early lead with a first round of 10-under.
Kaufman, who now works as commentator and analyst, shared a screenshot of Potgieter’s score at the Rocket Classic with a three-word caption. He wrote, signalling his excitement at the 20-year-old's start to the event:
"Very early but [eyes emoji]"
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Aldrich Potgieter started his first round at the 2025 Rocket Classic on the tenth hole. He made a birdie on the tenth, followed by two more birdies on the 12th and 14th, and then another birdie on the 16th. He made an impressive eagle on the 17th, followed by a birdie on the 18th.
Meanwhile, on the back nine, he scored three more birdies for a round of 10-under 62. Kevin Roy finished the first round in a tie for second place with Min Woo Lee, Mark Hubbard, and Max Greyserman at 9-under.
Aldrich Potgieter opens up about his first round performance at 2025 Rocket Classic
Aldrich Potgieter opened up about his first round performance at the 2025 Rocket Classic in the post-round press conference on Thursday. He talked about the spin control and his golf equipment.
"I mean, putts were definitely dropping. Hitting a lot of shots to pin high helped, so spin control, irons were a lot better. Got a new set in the bag so it was nice to see some results," he said (via Tee Scripts).
The South African golfer further talked about the new irons in his bag for this week’s event.
"We needed some more spin to keep the ball in the air a little bit. You wouldn't have thought that with the driving distance to add more spin, but it kind of keeps the ball in the air a little bit longer," he said.
"When I hit that knuckle one, it kind of comes off a little hot. So through the year I've been long over the green a lot, so trying to take that spin off shot into the wind. Now it's a little bit easier that it has that bit of spin so I'm not thinking about it too much and I can just hit the shot now," he added.
Aldrich Potgieter is looking to clinch his maiden win on the PGA Tour this week. He started the season at the Sony Open and missed the cut in the first two events he played. He then settled for a T15 at the Farmers Insurance Open, followed by second place at the Mexico Open.
However, after the decent start, he had a tough time in mid-season and missed the cut in four back-to-back events including the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, Valspar Championship, and Texas Children's Houston Open. He then finished T47 at the Valero Texas Open, but again missed three straight cuts.
After the tough stretch, Aldrich Potgieter secured T6 in his last outing at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and has now had a fantastic start to the Rocket Classic.
