SA's Aldrich Potgieter claims maiden PGA Tour title after marathon playoff

The 20-year-old started the day with a two-stroke lead but stumbled throughout. Standing on the sixth tee, Potgieter had already lost his lead and was one over for the round. But he rallied to claw back four shots to sign for a final round 69. That brought Americans Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk into play, and the trio tied the top of the leaderboard on 22 under apiece.

Kirk had the chance to seal the win on the opening pole with a nine-footer,  but pushed it wide. He was eliminated on the next hole after a poor putt missed from four feet out.

So it was back to the grind for Potgieter and Greyserman. The duo went putt for putt on the Detroit Golf Club greens as the playoff extended late into the afternoon. Finally, on the fifth extra hole, Greyserman two-putted from 34 feet out, leaving the young South African the chance to win from 18 feet. Of course, he dropped it dead centre.

"It was a big grind," the Pretoria-born Potgieter told the press afterwards.

"It was a very long day. Kind of couldn't get ahead of myself. I didn't get off to the best start.

"There was a switch that kind of went off when I lost the lead. I felt like I can kind of chase something. I had to pull myself out of the environment I was in before those first couple holes and get in that chase mode where I can kind of play some different golf."

It's been a journey for Potgieter, who went from Pretoria to Perth and is now finally living in the US. He emigrated to Australia as a teenager to pursue a professional career, but it didn't pan out as expected, prompting another move.

"We had to give up a lot, moving to Australia, moving back," he reflected.

"Emigrating is definitely not the easiest thing. Coming alone at the start of my career to the States and giving it a grind, and having my dad here has helped so much."

Potgieter - now the youngest South African to win on the PGA Tour - is the first to win on the PGA Tour since Johannesburg's Garrick Higgo at the Palmetto Championship in 2021.