"Was 99% sure it was going into the water" - Michael Kim admits misjudging 20-yo rookie’s monster drive at FedEx St. Jude Championship

After each tournament, fans and golf enthusiasts eagerly wait for Michael Kim's detailed notes of his experience. In his most recent tournament update on X (formerly known as Twitter) for the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, he revealed a detail about a fellow competitor that only he had observed.

Kim played the final round of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday with rising professional golfer Aldrich Potgieter. As one of the longer hitters on the circuit, the 20 year old could not have the opportunity to play a driver off of most holes.

However, on the few holes he did hit a driver off the tee, one instance left an impression on Michael Kim. On TPC Southwind's par 4 12th hole, Aldrich Potgieter's drive appeared to be heading towards the water hazard that lines the dogleg right hole along the right.

Having played a cut, Michael Kim was convinced that the ball would find the water hazard. However, when it did carry the massive penalty area, the latter was left stunned. He shared his thoughts about the shot made by the PGA Tour rookie (via X @Mike_kim714):

"Played with Aldrich Potgieter on Sunday. There’s not that many driver holes for him at southwind so I didn’t get to see that many drives unfortunately. But I did see him hit a driver on 12, I was 99% sure it was going into the water. It was a high spinny cut into the wind and heading towards the water. It somehow covered the water at 305 hitting a high spinny cut into the wind. That was pretty crazy haha."

Here's a look at Michael Kim's notes from the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship (via X @Mike_kim714):

The incredible shot from Aldrich Potgieter on the par 4 12th hole during the final round of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship set him up perfectly for a par. His decision to play a driver off the tee was praised by Kim when many players would tend to take the more conservative route with the massive water body lining the right side of the hole.

Are Michael Kim and Aldrich Potgieter playing the BMW Championship?

Following the conclusion of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the top 50 players on the FedEx Cup rankings made it through to play this week's BMW Championship.

Michael Kim managed to qualify for the event by eight spots. He ranks 42nd on the FedEx Cup rankings with 1,100 points and a projected total of 1,099.669 points.

On the other hand, Aldrich Potgieter missed out on his chance to play his maiden BMW Championship by a mere two spots. He ranked 52nd on the rankings with 961 points. J.T. Poston was the final 50th player to make it through with 996 points.

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua