Who are Aldrich Potgieter's parents? Meet the Rocket Classic 2025 winner's family

Aldrich Potgieter won this week's 2025 Rocket Classic at the Detroit Golf Club in great fashion. He earned his maiden title on the PGA Tour by surviving a five-hole playoff with Max Greyserman.

At just 20 years of age, Aldrich Potgieter is one of the youngest players on the circuit. He was born on 13 September 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa, to Adele and Heinrich Potgieter.

Following his winning putt at the Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, the winner ran up to his father and gave him a hug. Here's a look at the emotional moment:

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Potgieter competed in rugby and wrestling during his schooling days and chose golf as a career at a young age. The professional golfer grew up attending Louis Oosthuizen's golf academy in Mossel Bay before making the move to Australia at eight years old.

The rising PGA Tour sensation created a name for himself on Australia's amateur circuit. However, his move back to his native country at 17 years old posed a lot of challenges. Aldrich Potgieter struggled to compete in South Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He got his break at the 2022 Amateur Championship as the second youngest player to win the prestigious event. The victory qualified him to be a part of the 2023 Masters Tournament and US Open field.

Potgieter turned professional and made his debut on the Korn Ferry Tour later that year. He created history on the breakaway circuit by becoming the youngest player to win at just 19 years old.

Having finished inside the top 30 in the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, he earned an exemption to play on the PGA Tour through 2025.

Aldrich Potgieter speaks about struggles leading to his maiden PGA Tour victory

Following the grueling five-hole-long playoff, Aldrich Potgieter spoke with Amanda Balionis to voice his journey. The golf journalist spoke to his father, who shared that it took a lot of sacrifices to get the young golfer to where he is now.

The 20 year old said (via PGA Tour):

"We had to give up a lot. Moving to Australia, moving back [to South Africa] - immigrating is definitely not the easiest thing. And, coming alone at the start of my career to the States and giving it a gring and having my dad helped so much. So yeah, big thanks to my family, friends, coaches, and everyone who's been involed to kinda get me to this point. I'm just happy to walk away as a winner."

Following his victory at the 2025 Rocket Classic, Aldrich Potgieter is the youngest South African winner on the PGA Tour. He is the 9th youngest winner on the circuit since 1983.

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