“Aldrich Potgieter is the real deal”; “More wins than Tommy Fleetwood” – Fans laud 20-yo prodigy winning the Rocket Classic 2025 playoff thriller

On Sunday, June 29, Aldrich Potgieter emerged as the Rocket Classic 2025 winner in a thrilling playoff finish. He birdied the fifth playoff hole to beat Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk in a three-way face-off.

Potgieter entered the Detroit Golf Club on Sunday as the solo 54-hole leader. He carded a decent 3-under 69 in the final round to aggregate at 22-under but was joined by Greyserman and Kirk, who fired a 67 each.

In the playoff, Kirk became the first to exit after bogeying the par-3 15th, the second playoff hole. Greyserman and Aldrich Potgieter made a par and birdie on the next two holes and returned to the par-3 15th for the fifth playoff hole. While the emerging South African star drained the 17-footer, Greyserman fell just short after missing a 34-foot birdie attempt.

Fans online showered praise on the 20-year-old South African prodigy for his Rocket Classic 2025 win. Many PGA Tour fans also expressed concern that LIV Golf might try to sign him.

Here's a look at some of the reactions:

"Aldrich is the real deal. What a player 💪🏽 🇿🇦," PGA Tour pro and fellow South African Erik Van Rooyen wrote. "More wins than Tommy Fleetwood," one fan joked. "PGA needs to take care of this man, should be LIV number 1 target," another fan opined. "Golf is awesome because a 20 year old and 50 year old can both win the exact same game. Similar to poker in that regard," this fan remarked. "This kid is going to be a star. F**k that first win ball plenty more where that came from," one user commented. "Today's playoff went so long that the Detroit Lions broke training camp," this fan posted.

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How much money did Aldrich Potgieter earn for the Rocket Classic 2025 win?

The purse size of the Rocket Classic 2025 was $9.6 million, and Aldrich Potgieter received $1.728 million as the winner's share. Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk took home $854,400 each for their joint runner-up finish.

Here's a look at the payout for the Rocket Classic 2025 (top 13 and ties):

• Win. Aldrich Potgieter ($1.728 million)
• T2. Max Greyserman ($854,400)
• T2. Chris Kirk ($854,400)
• T4. Michael Thorbjornsen ($432,000)
• T4. Jake Knapp ($432,000)
• T6. Jackson Suber ($336,000)
• T6. Nico Echavarria ($336,000)
• T8. Thriston Lawrence ($261,600)
• T8. Kevin Roy ($261,600)
• T8. Matt Fitzpatrick ($261,600)
• T8. Collin Morikawa ($261,600)
• T8. Andrew Putnam ($261,600)
• T13. Min Woo Lee ($172,000)
• T13. Hideki Matsuyama ($172,000)
• T13. Chandler Phillips ($172,000)
• T13. Ben Griffin ($172,000)
• T13. Harry Hall ($172,000)
• T13. Mark Hubbard ($172,000)

Edited by Shobhit Kukreti