Co-leader Aldrich Potgieter drops ‘comfortable’ truth bomb on PGA Championship

It's been a day for the South African golfers at the PGA Championship. Two golfers made big headlines on Thursday in the opening round. Garrick Higgo showed up one minute late to his tee time and was given a 2-stroke penalty. He found a way to still shoot a 67 on the day, and if it had not been for the penalty, he would be currently tied with fellow South African, Aldrich Potgieter, at -3.Potgieter was one of the early risers on the day and began his tournament before many people were even awake. He reiterated that after his first-ever round at the PGA Championship via TJ Auclair.“I think it helped this morning being out so early,” Potgieter said. “So it was nice to kind of get in my own little space and kind of get a groove in early on. It's nice being in America playing here over the last two years and kind of coming to these big events, playing more Signature Events as well. I definitely feel this week I'm more comfortable.”Potgieter is the co-leader with Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Alex Smalley, and Stephan Jaeger.Potgieter has participated in the Masters twice (2023, 2026), failing to make the cut both times. He finished 64th at the U.S. Open in his only appearance in 2023 and failed to make the cut both times at The Open Championship in 2022 and 2025.So far this week, it seems like the South African is learning quickly early in the round.“It's nice to be on the leaderboard early on in the week,” said. “I think the last couple of weeks I didn't have that first round where I got myself close enough to the leaders, and kind of felt like I had to catch up a little bit. So it's nice to be in this position now and getting in before hopefully the wind picks up a little bit for this afternoon. It's nice to get out early and get the first day done.”It's been a day for the South African golfers at the PGA Championship. Two golfers made big headlines on Thursday in the opening round. Garrick Higgo showed up one minute late to his tee time and was given a 2-stroke penalty. He found a way to still shoot a 67 on the day, and if it had not been for the penalty, he would be currently tied with fellow South African, Aldrich Potgieter, at -3.