Forty-year-old tour vet Chris Kirk nearly snared his 7th career victory yesterday, but it wasn’t meant to be, thanks to Al Potgieter, the kid from South Africa.
Aldrich Potgieter went full rocket man kid at the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic, capturing his first PGA Tour win and a giant novelty check for $1.7 million. That’s right — this guy can’t legally sip champagne at a Vegas casino, but he can take down a tour field after 77 hard-fought holes of golf (regulation + 5 playoff holes against Kirk and “Mr. Runner-up,” Max Greyserman.
The playoff bridesmaids took home $854k each, which translates to $11k and change for every pressure-filled hole they played last week.
Aldrich has the mental makeup to win majors someday. Yesterday, the Kid didn’t blink. While the rest of us were trying to figure out how to pronounce his last name, he was busy locking up a spot in the 2026 Masters and 2025 Open Championship.
Why do we think he has what it takes to win at the highest level?
He’s insanely long off the tee. Potgieter hits it miles, which gives him a big advantage on most courses—he’s often hitting shorter irons into greens while others are still pulling hybrids. He currently ranks 2nd on tour in driving distance measured at 327.4 yards per ripper. Damn.
He’s way more composed than most 20-year-olds. You don’t win a PGA Tour event without serious mental toughness. He doesn’t get rattled and seems to thrive in big moments—like that birdie on 18 to seal the Rocket win.
He’s working on the right things on his days off. For a guy known for distance, his short game is slowly but surely getting better and was on full display in Detroit. He’s already confident with the putter and starting to display the feel of a seasoned and confident vet around the greens.
At every step in his career, he’s been the best. He’s already played in major junior and amateur events and lifted the biggest of trophies. Now he’s lifted his first PGA Tour trophy. With the confidence that comes with a tour victory, he may go on a run. And with his length and putting prowess, look out.
Winners & Losers from Sunday in Detroit:
Winner. Captain America. Keegan jumped 21 spots on the board Sunday with a 67 and continues to make cuts and impress. He didn’t win, he didn’t even finish top 25, but he hung around and finished 12 under for the week.
Loser: We know it’s silly to say that a player who shoots a final round 5-under 67 is a loser, but that is what Max Greyserman is. With his runner-up finish yesterday, he’s now come in 2nd six times on tour. He’s too good not to win, but like Tommy Fleetwood, who lost a close one last week, these guys will need to snatch a win to be a Sunday “winner.”
Loser: Jake Knapp. The Big Smooth. He left his tying putt short on the 72nd. Jake, go ahead and blow it 5 feet past. You just can’t leave it short.
Winner: Win Woo Lee. Sure, he was playing Sunday with limited to no pressure, especially compared to the guys who teed it up an hour later than he did; nonetheless, his final 6-under 66 jolted him up the leaderboard, finishing up T-13
Winners: Harry Higgs and Akshay Bhatia. Two popular gents, Harry and Akshay, fired Sunday bests 7-under, 65s to jump up the board Sunday 24 and 29 spots, respectively. Finishing up your week on a heater is how you go home with more money than you thought you would when you rolled out of bed Sunday AM.
2025 Rocket Classic Prize Money Payouts
| Pos. | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Aldrich Potgieter | -23 | $1,728,000 |
| T2 | Chris Kirk | -22 | $854,400 |
| T2 | Max Greyserman | -22 | $854,400 |
| T4 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -21 | $432,000 |
| T4 | Jake Knapp | -21 | $432,000 |
| T6 | Nico Echavarria | -20 | $336,000 |
| T6 | Jackson Suber | -20 | $336,000 |
| T8 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -19 | $261,600 |
| T8 | Kevin Roy | -19 | $261,600 |
| T8 | Collin Morikawa | -19 | $261,600 |
| T8 | Thriston Lawrence | -19 | $261,600 |
| T8 | Andrew Putnam | -19 | $261,600 |
| T13 | Min Woo Lee | -18 | $172,000 |
| T13 | Chandler Phillips | -18 | $172,000 |
| T13 | Hideki Matsuyama | -18 | $172,000 |
| T13 | Ben Griffin | -18 | $172,000 |
| T13 | Harry Hall | -18 | $172,000 |
| T13 | Mark Hubbard | -18 | $172,000 |
| T19 | Sami Valimaki | -17 | $117,984 |
| T19 | Cameron Champ | -17 | $117,984 |
| T19 | Chan Kim | -17 | $117,984 |
| T19 | Matt McCarty | -17 | $117,984 |
| T19 | Doug Ghim | -17 | $117,984 |
| T24 | Harry Higgs | -16 | $88,800 |
| T24 | Nicolai Hojgaard | -16 | $88,800 |
| T26 | Akshay Bhatia | -15 | $70,080 |
| T26 | Michael Kim | -15 | $70,080 |
| T26 | Matthew Riedel | -15 | $70,080 |
| T26 | Chris Gotterup | -15 | $70,080 |
| T26 | Jacob Bridgeman | -15 | $70,080 |
| T26 | Chad Ramey | -15 | $70,080 |
| T32 | Vince Whaley | -14 | $58,560 |
| T32 | Patrick Cantlay | -14 | $58,560 |
| T34 | Kris Ventura | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | Joe Highsmith | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | Hayden Springer | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | Lee Hodges | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | Philip Knowles | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | William Mouw | -13 | $47,932 |
| T34 | Davis Thompson | -13 | $47,932 |
| T41 | Keegan Bradley | -12 | $36,000 |
| T41 | Luke List | -12 | $36,000 |
| T41 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -12 | $36,000 |
| T41 | Peter Malnati | -12 | $36,000 |
| T41 | Ryan Gerard | -12 | $36,000 |
| T46 | Matt Wallace | -11 | $27,091 |
| T46 | Takumi Kanaya | -11 | $27,091 |
| T46 | Cameron Young | -11 | $27,091 |
| T46 | Gary Woodland | -11 | $27,091 |
| T46 | Justin Lower | -11 | $27,091 |
| T51 | Lanto Griffin | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Henrik Norlander | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Victor Perez | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Nick Hardy | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Aaron Wise | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Webb Simpson | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Will Gordon | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Thomas Rosenmueller | -10 | $22,709 |
| T51 | Kurt Kitayama | -10 | $22,709 |
| T60 | Byeong Hun An | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Austin Eckroat | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Luke Clanton | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Isaiah Salinda | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Beau Hossler | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Ryo Hisatsune | -9 | $21,024 |
| T60 | Paul Peterson | -9 | $21,024 |
| T67 | Davis Riley | -8 | $19,776 |
| T67 | Gordon Sargent | -8 | $19,776 |
| T67 | Camilo Villegas | -8 | $19,776 |
| T67 | David Skinns | -8 | $19,776 |
| T67 | Ben Silverman | -8 | $19,776 |
| T67 | Brett White | -8 | $19,776 |
| T73 | James Piot | -7 | $18,720 |
| T73 | Antoine Rozner | -7 | $18,720 |
| T73 | Kaito Onishi | -7 | $18,720 |
| T73 | Emiliano Grillo | -7 | $18,720 |
| T73 | Kevin Velo | -7 | $18,720 |
| T78 | Quade Cummins | -6 | $17,856 |
| T78 | Erik van Rooyen | -6 | $17,856 |
| T78 | Ben Kohles | -6 | $17,856 |
| T78 | Adam Hadwin | -6 | $17,856 |
| T82 | Harrison Endycott | -5 | $17,280 |
| T82 | Zach Johnson | -5 | $17,280 |
| 84 | Si Woo Kim | -4 | $16,992 |
| 85 | Mason Andersen | -3 | $16,800 |
| 86 | Cristobal Del Solar | -2 | $16,608 |
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