A jaw-dropping 661-yard shot at the Mexico Open showed why 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter is becoming one of golf’s most exciting young stars.
The South African crushed a 331-yard drive off the tee. But it was what he did next that had everyone talking.
Still 326 yards from the green – longer than most par 4s – Potgieter did something that would make even the pros nervous. He pulled out his driver again, this time to hit it right off the grass.
It’s one of the toughest shots in golf. Most pros won’t even try it.
Potgieter not only attempted it – he stuck it within 22 feet of the flag. The shot has already been viewed over a million times on social media.
“I knew I was playing good,” Potgieter said after his round. “I just had to miss that big tree. It was a perfect number.”
The young star makes it sound simple, but there was nothing ordinary about his performance. He averaged a massive 320.3 yards off the tee during Friday’s round – currently leading the PGA Tour in driving distance for 2025 at 328.7 yards.
That incredible shot was just part of a red-hot day for Potgieter. He made 10 birdies on his way to shooting a 61, giving him a four-shot lead heading into the weekend.
He’s not the only young gun making waves in Mexico. Seventeen-year-old Blades Brown made his first cut as a pro, shooting solid rounds of 68 and 69.
Brown’s story is pretty remarkable too. He turned down offers from top college golf programs to turn pro at the end of 2024. After missing the cut in his first event at The American Express, he’s now playing weekend golf in just his second professional start.
But it was Potgieter’s incredible driver-off-the-deck shot that had everyone talking. He revealed his secret afterward: “I’ve been practicing a drill on the driving range, teeing it really low. I just told my caddie, ‘let’s do the same thing.'”
Sometimes making golf history really is that simple – if you’ve got the talent to pull it off.
