Potgieters nightmare Masters start as shot hit | Golf News

Aldrich Potgieter endured a disastrous opening at The Masters after he bladed a chip shot across the first inexperienced and into the spectator space.

On Thursday, with reigning champion Rory McIlroy scheduled to tee off later in the morning, the opening spherical of the Masters acquired underway. Potgieter was half of one of the earliest teams, and the 21-year-old launched his marketing campaign in embarrassing fashion.

Potgieter drove off on the Par-4 first gap, but after two strokes, discovered himself off the placing floor and exterior the ropes. With spectators surrounding him, he tried to chip back onto the inexperienced only to compound his troubles. This follows revelations from Rory McIlroy’s Masters Champions Dinner including the distinctive merchandise handed around.

Potgieter utterly thinned his chip, unable to get beneath the ball as he hammered it across the inexperienced. The ball hopped and skipped forcefully across, touring from one tough patch to another, bouncing among the spectators and rebounding off the grandstand on the far facet.

Ultimately, Potgieter putted for 6 and recorded a double-bogey to launch his Masters bid in catastrophic fashion. Spectators expressed sympathy, though still acknowledged the subpar execution. “Ha… I Did that yesterday,” commented one.

“That’s me on a Sunday morning after arriving 2 mins before my tee time,” another added. One more remarked: “Skulled the s— out of that one!”

One observer famous how Potgieter has time to get well, commenting: “It’s probably just nerves… he’ll settle in.”

Potgieter completed his spherical at 12-over par, tied for last place.

Potgieter made his Masters debut in 2023 after claiming the Amateur Championship as a 17 12 months outdated in 2022. He secured his return by successful the 2025 Rocket Championship on the PGA Tour.

Reflecting on his debut, in which he missed the cut, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year acknowledged that his greatest error was spending extreme time on the course in the times main up to the opening spherical. Potgieter said: “These weeks can get really big, especially if you’re here Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday playing practice rounds for 4-5 hours.

“I bear in mind that I spent all day every time out on the course and by Friday I used to be fairly drained already. So we are attempting to keep it to a minimal this 12 months and stick to the routines.”

Despite his feedback, Potgieter logged the most pictures on the follow vary on Monday. Given his early displaying, maybe the South African would have benefited from dedicating even more time to sharpening his sport.