'South Africa Prospect' Portegeeter "Did You See the Par 4 Hole-in-One?"

PGA Tour John Deere Classic Monday Qualifier: Rare Hole-in-One on 345-Yard Par 4 Tee Shot

Oldrich Potgieter (South Africa) made a hole-in-one on a par-4 hole.

On the 3rd (local time), he set a rare record at the John Deere Classic Monday qualifier of the PGA Tour held at Pinnacle Country Club (par 72) in Milan, Illinois, USA. His tee shot on the 17th hole (par 4, 345 yards) rolled into the hole, a stroke of luck. A hole-in-one on a par-4 hole has only occurred once before in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The first time was by Andrew Magee (USA) on the 17th hole (par 4) at the 2001 Phoenix Open.

Aldrich Portziter is posing after making a hole-in-one in the Monday qualifier of the John Deere Classic.
[Photo by PGA Official Website]

Potgieter's hole-in-one occurred during the qualifying round, so it is not recorded as an official record. Potgieter recalled the thrilling moment of his electrifying hole-in-one, saying, "It was an exciting and strange moment." Since the hole is a dogleg where the green is not visible from the teeing ground, he did not see the ball go in. Potgieter explained, "My caddie ran ahead to the fairway where the green is visible and was waving his arms wildly, so I thought the ball was right next to the hole. Then the caddie shouted, 'It went in.' For a while, I couldn't believe what had happened."

The 18-year-old Potgieter is a promising player who won last year's US Amateur Championship and the British Amateur Championship, one of the two major amateur golf tournaments worldwide hosted by the R&A. Potgieter shot a 6-under-par 66 that day but did not earn a spot in the John Deere Classic. Four spots were available in the Monday qualifier, and Potgieter finished tied for 5th, one stroke behind three players tied for 2nd place.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.