aldrich potgieter
(Photo by Mike Mulholland / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AME
South African teenager Aldrich Potgieter shot a 59 on the second division Korn Ferry Tour in Colombia on Friday, his second sub-60 score in as many days.
On Thursday, in the opening round of the Astara Golf Championship in Bogotá, Colombia, Chile's Cristóbal del Solar shot the lowest round ever in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament with a 13-under 57.
The 19-year-old Potgieter had 10 birdies, one eagle and one bogey on the same course at Country Club de Bogotá Pacos to finish 11 under.
Already the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history, Potgieter birdied the final three holes to become the youngest player to break 60 in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
Potgieter said del Solar's score convinced him that he could score very low.
“I was trying to push myself because I wanted to get to that 57, but then I realized it was still a golf tournament and I wasn't having a fun round here, so I was kind.” “I tried to focus on those last three birdies and that helped me a lot,” he said.
“I knew I had to play well to hit a shot this low. It was just kind of a confidence thing to hit the ball, get it close and make the putt.”
The course is the shortest on the Korn Ferry Tour at 6,254 yards and has nearly 9,000 feet of elevation, but until Thursday, it had never had a score lower than 60.
The tournament will be held on two adjacent courses, with South African players returning to the tougher and longer course in Lagos on Saturday.
Potgieter won the amateur championships at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's in 2022 and also won the Korn Ferry event in the Bahamas last month.
