Aldrich Potgieter Sees Parallels With Scottie Scheffler After First Win

The World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has made his dominance on the golf course look routine. With 16 PGA Tour wins, including three in 2025 alone, and three major titles under his belt, Scheffler has held the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for over 140 weeks.

His first PGA Tour victory came at age 25 at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open, and since then, he’s become the gold standard of consistency.

But now, a new name is looking to follow that path. Aldrich Potgieter, who just earned his first PGA Tour win at age 20, and isn’t shy about drawing comparisons.

Aldrich Potgieter compares troubles with Scheffler’s

On Sunday, Potgieter drained an 18-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole at the Rocket Classic in Detroit to outlast Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk in a three-man playoff.

The South African rookie became the youngest player from his country to win on the PGA Tour and joined elite company, only Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth were younger when they won a playoff in the last 50 years.

Shortly after the win, Potgieter sat down with Dan Rapaport for a 1-on-1 interview. Rapaport brought up Potgieter’s short-game struggles earlier this season, particularly at the Mexico Open, where he lost in a playoff.

“Your chipping was a bit of an issue in Mexico,” Rapaport noted. “I’ve seen you working really hard at it. You hit a really really good one on 13, you hit a pretty good one on 14. Just how much have you been working on that?”

Potgieter didn’t dodge the critique. “Yeah, it’s been one of the things I needed to work on,” he admitted. “Looking at the stats from the year so far, my iron play was probably the worst out of everything.”

“I had to rely on the chipping so much that… it’s like hitting every shot like Scottie.”

He wasn’t just name-dropping. Potgieter referenced Scheffler’s own journey, how the World No. 1 once faced criticism for his putting.

In 2023, Scheffler ranked 161st in strokes gained putting and lost multiple tournaments despite elite ball-striking.

But after hiring putting coach Phil Kenyon and switching to a claw grip, he turned it around, winning the 2024 Hero World Challenge by 6 shots while ranking third in putting that week.

Potgieter sees a similar arc. “My chipping can improve so much,” he said. “But definitely iron play—getting it closer, getting it on the green—I don’t have to rely so much on it.

“I definitely scored a lot on the par fives where I had to make up and down from some spots, so I think it’s improved quite a lot. But there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Aldrich Potgieter’s First PGA Tour Win Came With Sacrifice

His win was more than a personal milestone. Potgieter’s father, Heinrich, had travelled with him week after week, while his mother stayed in South Africa with his sister.

“We had to give up a lot,” Potgieter said, holding back emotion. “Moving to Australia, moving back… immigrating is not easy. Coming alone to the States and grinding—it’s been a journey.”

After the win, he confirmed he’ll finally be heading home for the first time since February. Next up, Potgieter is expected to tee it up at the John Deere Classic, starting July 3rd in Silvis, Illinois.

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