Sunday Times E-Edition

Teen sensation

Potgieter guns for the big boys

By LIAM DEL CARME

● The prospect of playing in your maiden Open at St Andrews would be daunting for any 17-year-old, but Aldrich Potgieter is not your ordinary teen.

Besides, help will be at hand in the shape of Louis Oosthuizen as Potgieter prepares for next month’s tournament at the home of golf.

Oosthuizen, who won his only Major there in 2010, has offered to play a practice round with the youngster who is also enrolled in his academy. Potgieter will likely get valuable insights from SA’s top ranked player as he navigates his way through a challenging layout.

Potgieter earned his spot in the Open, and indeed the next Masters and US Open, by virtue of his stunning success last weekend when he bagged the most prestigious prize in amateur golf — claiming the 127th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s.

Practice rounds

Winning the Amateur Championship opens eyes and doors and Potgieter admits the achievement hasn’t sunk in yet.

“I think when I step onto the first tee at the Open it will hit me really hard,” said Potgieter. “I’ll be there a few days before and play some practice rounds. I’m pretty sure I’ll be playing in a practice round with Louis. He messaged me asking whether I’d like to play a practice round. Obviously that will help a lot.”

That round will likely be instructive as Oosthuizen points out potential perils and perhaps instils calm in a player about to be set loose among the grizzled pros.

But then Potgieter has done a pretty decent job of holding his own in an older crowd.

In fact, for as long as he can remember, he has worn the underdog’s tag with a sense of duty and pride. “Last week I really wanted to win because it was in England, on his home course,” he said about beating Sam Bairstow en route to the title.

“The crowd was going to follow him. That just gave me more inspiration to play better golf.”

Rare feat

For perspective, he became the second youngest player to win the title after Matteo Mannesero, who won in 2009 at the age of 16. Potgieter became only the third South African to claim the title after Bobby Cole in 1966 and Jovan Rebula in 2018.

His surge up the rankings in the last three years has been quite remarkable. He ranked in the top 6,000 among the amateurs in 2019, the top 2,800 last year and has now shot up to 140th.

The signs of his star quality had been evident for a while. He played his first tournament aged eight, while his family was still in Middelburg. “I won shooting 52, or 51 over nine holes off the ladies tees,” recalled Potgieter.

After his family moved to Perth he did not play for a year. Thankfully though, golf, Potgieter says, comes to him naturally. “I went to Kingsway Christian College and they had a golf programme. I was in the programme for one day when they told me I needed to join a club because I was too advanced. I realised I’ve got the talent. I can already see how the game should be played. I went to the club and started straight away.”

Back in SA he won the Nomads SA U19 Stroke Play Championship by a record 20 shots before charging to the SA Boys Match Play title.

Long and straight

“I’m pretty decent all round but I am long off the tee,” said Potgieter when asked to summarise his game. “I don’t miss too many fairways. I hit the ball far with the driver and that helps me a lot, especially when I play difficult courses. That puts me in a good position to start off with.”

That said, it is now about making the step up. He has the natural gifts to compete but he knows he needs to develop the mentality to compete with the big boys.

“When you get to the tournament you know there may be guys who are more talented. It’s about the effort and the hard work you’ve put in. The mental side is different. I read somewhere it’s about who’s head space stays in the game longest. If the other guy folds you’ve got to stay in it.”

The new kid on the block seems to know what’s coming and the Old Course will find out soon enough.

The crowd was going to follow Bairstow. That just gave me more inspiration to play better golf Aldrich Potgieter

Amateur Championship winner

Sport

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2022-06-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

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