Many golfers have a mental setback after a poor performance on the professional circuit, especially early on in their careers. A South African golfer, who turned pro in 2023, faced a similar issue. Aldrich Potgieter’s rise has been anything but straightforward. The 21-year-old powerhouse with record-breaking length off the tee, he stunned the Korn Ferry circuit with early fireworks, yet found himself wrestling with a season that spun far from expectations.

“Although I won an event early, my game didn’t work well on Korn Ferry Tour setups,” Aldrich Potgieter told Golf Digest.

“I was averaging 337 yards, more than a dozen yards longer than anyone on Korn Ferry or the PGA Tour, but on these short courses, I couldn’t use my weapon. I missed a lot of cuts and slipped into a dark space.”

Aldrich Potgieter is popular for driving long distances. In fact, he even surpassed Rory McIlroy, one of the longest drivers of the game, in 2025. While the 2025 Masters winner averaged 323 yards per drive, the South African’s record this season was 325 yards per drive. Although these numbers can become helpful on the PGA Tour, the story is a little different on Korn Ferry Tour courses.

While most of the courses hosting Korn Ferry Tour events are over 7,000 yards, some are below that. For instance, the Olivos Golf Club, home to the 2024 117 Visa Argentina Open, was just 6,795 yards. Similarly, the Thornblade Club, which hosts the BMW Charity Pro-Am, is 6,842 yards. These shorter courses reward precision over Potgieter’s 337-yard bombs.

Thus, although he won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club early on, he missed a lot of cuts later. It was the second event of the season.

But after that victory, Aldrich Potgieter missed the cut in 10 events in the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season. That’s a total of 11 missed cuts in the 24 events he played, which led to his slip into a dark space.

However, his father came to the rescue. “My dad reminded me to be patient and that I belonged. Driving, flying, eating at steak houses together—our conversations always came back to golf,” Aldrich Potgieter said.

Thanks to the support of his father, the South African golfer earned his career-changing win on the PGA Tour this season. Although he missed the cut in 8 of the 20 events he started in, he was able to win the Rocket Classic.

And this was thanks to his long drives. He ranked the highest in terms of driving average, which was 337.2 yards throughout the four rounds.

Besides the Rocket Classic, he also got close to winning at the Mexico Open. He finished tied in 1st position with Brian Campbell after the regulation rounds. They both hit 20 under par and triggered a playoff. Campbell defeated Aldrich Potgieter by hitting a birdie on the second round of the playoff on par 5 18th hole.

On the PGA Tour, he is better able to use his weapon of long drives. And the reason why he can drive so long is his cross-sport athleticism.

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Aldrich Potgieter’s long drives

The 2025 Rocket Classic champion has flaunted his driving skills on multiple occasions. For instance, he drove 374 yards at the 2025 Mexico Open. In fact, he reached close to the hole of a 661-yard par-5 in just two hits. And he credits this to his involvement in rugby and wrestling.

Potgieter started wrestling at age 8 after moving from South Africa to Perth, Australia. He was encouraged by his father, who was a former rugby player who retired from the sport at 24. He won a national championship at 11 in the ~70kg class, crediting quick success to hand-eye coordination from multi-sport youth, including rugby. Though he quit at 14 for full-time golf, wrestling’s demands, such as maintaining a squatted stance for 3-4 minutes against opponents, directly mirror the golf swing’s coiled, ground-force posture, fostering power.

At 5’11” and 211 pounds, a “golfer in a wrestler’s body,” Potgieter continued wrestling workouts post-retirement. This included heavy core exercises, squatting, and bench pressing to sustain torque and base stability. This yields advantages like a 314-yard carry, 85% of drives over 300 yards, and 55% over 320 yards. At the end of the 2025 season, he ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee despite rawness elsewhere.

Aldrich Potgieter’s path shows how early setbacks can shape a player who refuses to let talent go to waste. His growing confidence, paired with the strength that once felt like a burden, now positions him as one of the most intriguing young hitters on tour.