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PGA Tour Driving Distance Leader Dunks One of Year’s Shortest Drives Into Water

Aldrich Potgieter got off to a tough start in the signature event at Bay Hill.

Matt Vincenzi

Aldrich Potgieter topped a tee shot early in his first round at Bay Hill.
Aldrich Potgieter topped a tee shot early in his first round at Bay Hill. / Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images

Last week plenty of fans took issue with how PGA National's Champion course, typically one of the toughest on the PGA Tour, played easy in the first few rounds.

Golf fans can now rejoice as it appears this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational will bring the carnage so many of us crave.

Bay Hill is tough in general, but 20 mph winds on Thursday were making the course an absolute brute.

Early in his first round, Aldrich Potgieter, who narrowly missed out on his first PGA Tour two weeks ago in Mexico, is struggling mightily.

He got out to a 6 over start through eight holes, thanks in part to a topped tee shot that you’ll have to see to believe.

The 20-year-old, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance at an average of 326.9 yards, mishit the ball off the 6th tee and it appeared to fly about 50 yards before plopping directly into the middle of the water hazard fronting the tee.

The South African would go on to make a double-bogey 7 on the hole.

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Matt Vincenzi
MATT VINCENZI

Matt Vincenzi is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, covering golf. Before joining SI in October 2024, he worked as a golf writer for GolfWRX and the Action Network. He is a graduate of Bridgewater State University and has been covering professional golf for five years.

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