Curious timeline unfolds as Aldrich Potgieter WDs from PGA Tour event, set to change agents
Nick Stavas- Aldrich Potgieter withdrew from the Bank of Utah Championship on Friday, citing an illness.
- The withdrawal followed news that Potgieter was changing sports agencies and a PGA Tour feature about his career.
- This timing led to social media speculation about a potential move to LIV Golf.
- Potgieter has previously played practice rounds with LIV members and has a relationship with Louis Oosthuizen.
Aldrich Potgieter withdrew from the PGA Tour's Bank of Utah Championship on Friday before beginning his second round.
Potgieter signed for an even-par 71 in Thursday's opening round at Black Desert Resort, which is hosting the event for the second straight year. A PGA Tour official told the Golf Channel that Potgieter exited the tournament Friday morning due to an illness.
Just 55 minutes prior to announcing his withdrawal, the PGA Tour's social media channels posted a video feature about Potgieter and his quest to qualify for a pair of signature events in early 2026. And just hours before that video was posted, Josh Carpenter with Sports Business Journal reported that Potgieter is set to sign with a new agency, leaving GSE Worldwide to join Entertainment Sports Partners — the same group that represents four-time major champion and fellow South African, Ernie Els, who competes on the PGA Tour Champions now.
There's not much to suggest that this peculiar timeline of events surrounding Potgieter on Friday morning is anything other than a coincidence, but sports fans love to speculate, so naturally, Golf Twitter began churning the rumor mill that the young star might be making a jump to LIV Golf.
Those rumors began circulating over the summer when Potgieter played practice rounds with LIV members at the Open Championship. Potgieter has a strong relationship with Louis Oosthuizen, who runs an academy for junior golfers in South Africa named after his LIV team, Stinger GC.
Of course, it's all speculation, and as Carpenter points out in his report, the agency with which Potgieter plans to sign also represents Els, who has been an opponent of LIV Golf since its inception. Regardless, based upon what Potgieter has shown us so far, he has potential to become a household name in South Africa and beyond.
He was the longest hitter by driving average on the PGA Tour in 2025 and broke into the winner's circle at just 20 years old. After losing to Brian Campbell in extra holes at the Mexico Open in February, he defeated Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk in a marathon playoff at the Rocket Classic in July. He's struggled since then, though, withdrawing from the John Deere Classic before missing the cut at both the Scottish Open and the Open Championship. He qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs but failed to advance past the first round, finishing tied for 59th at the FedEx St. Jude. Two weeks ago, he finished T-33 at the Baycurrent Classic — a no-cut PGA Tour event in Japan.