Centurion - South African teenager Aldrich Potgieter will realise a lifelong dream as he makes his debut at the Masters at Augusta when the tournament starts on Thursday.
Potgieter won the 2022 Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes, which booked his spot at the Masters.
Unlike in the last few years when there have been plenty SA players teeing it up, the 18-year-old Potgieter will be just one of three players from Mzansi. Veterans Louis Oosthuizen and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel will be carrying the SA hopes.
Augusta is notoriously difficult for debutants, and that will likely be the case for Potgieter. Cognisant of this fact, Potgieter says his main goal will be to soak up the experience.
#Spotlight
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) April 4, 2023
The @GolfRSA National Squad's Aldrich Potgieter is the 5th 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 Amateur to tee it up in @TheMasters ...
We chatted to 2022 Amateur champ after his 2023 #AfricanAmateur win about realising a childhood dream, the great support he received & handling the big occasion. pic.twitter.com/D7ALec5nOM
“The Masters is just a different story. Growing up that’s the one tournament I’ve always wanted to play,” Potgieter told GolfRSA in an interview.
“Being able to do that at 18-years-old is going to be an unbelievable experience. I have to say that’s my favourite tournament and I’m looking forward to playing at Augusta.
“Just taking it in will be the biggest (most important) part. Knowing that you’re good enough to be there will be the main thing and then let your golf game speak for itself.”
Potgieter is currently ranked 33rd in the world amateur golf rankings, and a couple of good results at the Masters and Colonial - another US PGA Tour event he has been invited to play - will bode well for the rest of his season
“I should get heaps of (amateur) world rankings points if I perform decently in those tournaments. That’s probably the biggest goal - to get that world ranking down to top-10 or top-five in the world. That’s the absolute goal for this year, which will get me invites to a lot more events.”
@Golfhackno1
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