The Punter's In-Play Blog: Rookie Potgieter chasing breakthrough win in Detroit

• Big-hitting young South African Aldrich Potgieter leads the Rocket Mortgage Classic

• Five share second as field set for cavalry charge to the line

• Matt Cooper stands in for Steve Rawlings

---

09:40 - June 29, 2025

The relentless South African production line of tour-quality golfers has never ceased, but it has failed to come up with a star in recent times. The 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter might change that in time and he might also be on the brink of his PGA Tour breakthrough in Detroit.

With scores of 62-70-65 for a 54 hole total of 19-under 197 he leads the Rocket Mortgage Classic by two heading into the final round.

He leads the tour's Driving Distance and Ball Speed seasonal rankings, and this week has been no different in that regard: he averages 329 yards with a best of 340 and ranks fourth for Strokes Gained Off the Tee.

But, ahead of this week, he switched his blades for Titleist T100 irons to improve control on his approaches. He ranks eighth in the category this week (and second for hitting Greens in Regulation) - up from seasonal rankings of 141st and 138th respectively. That has obviously made a big difference. 

Here are the leaders and prices at 09:40:

-19 Aldrich Potgieter 4.03/1
-17 Max Greyserman 8.415/2
-17 Jake Knapp 9.617/2
-17 Mark Hubbard 12.011/1
-17 Andrew Putnam 16.015/1
-17 Chris Kirk 10.09/1
-16 Thriston Lawrence 24.023/1
-16 Michael Thorbjornsen 22.021/1
-16 Jackson Suber 50.049/1
-15 and 17.016/1 bar

Potgieter led at this stage on the DP World Tour in the Nedbank Challenge at the end of last year and on the PGA Tour in the Mexico Open at the start of his year. Both times he slipped back to second.

We know he has the capacity to shoot a big number, but he also has an X factor. He is also more than a simple shoot-from-the-hip operator. It's only three years since he won the Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Anne's - you don't win there with a rash game plan and poor execution. I was there and it was no fluke. 

The final round will be a test, however. with a course for the taking and chasers that are stacked up behind him - no less than five of them sharing second, in fact. It's entirely possible that he won't be leading when he tees off which might actually work in his favour. 

Red hot in Detroit

20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter leads by two @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/VQeCKahiPt

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 28, 2025

Greyserman has missed only two cuts all year but has only one top 10 and that was back in January. He did, however, finish second three times last year. 

Knapp was a first-time winner in Mexico last year and has reminded us of his low scoring potential in 2025 with a 59 at PGA National. He was also two off the lead last time out in Canada when it went wrong (with a 72 for T27). Might the fresh memories of what he did wrong help this week?

Hubbard is four-time PGA Tour top three finisher without a win, Putnam hasn't been in a 54 hole top five since early 2023, and Kirk is the most experienced at contending and winning of the top nine (six wins on the PGA Tour). 

The market is wary of Collin Morikawa on 15-under. Currently 17.016/1, he ranked last in the field for Putting in the first round and said he putting "like a blind man". Since changing to a mallet-headed putter he has ranked 11th and 42nd in rounds two and three. 

Greyserman was open to reviving memories of his seconds last year after round three and the lessons he learned. What puts me off adding him is that his weakness this week has been wedge approaches. He admitted this, the numbers back it up, and he was off to work on them at the range. If that works he could be dangerous, but he's not big enough for me to try it out. 

Knapp was Morikawa-like in round one, ranking 149th for Putting. But he rebounded to first in round two!  He has it in him to be a threat but I'm not quite tempted. 

Good luck all and Steve will be back tomorrow for the Debrief.

---

18:40 - June 28, 2025

The third round of the Italian Open felt a little like a tale of two youngsters: the halfway leader Angel Ayora and Martin Couvra who started the day tied second. The former is Spanish with a mop of dark hair, the latter French with a mop of blond hair. 

They were locked together through 10 holes: two birdies apiece, both on the same holes, with pars everywhere else. Ayora sneaked clear with a birdie at 11 but then went wack-wack-oops with a triple bogey eight at 12. 

By day's end Couvra had carded a 67 for an 11-under total for the week which is good for a one shot lead. Ayora, in contrast, yo-yoed his way home, eventually signing for a level-par 70. A minor win for Couvra but a sense, too, that this might have been the start of a delicious rivalry with plenty more battles to come in the future.

Here's the leaderboard and prices at 18:40:

-11 Martin Couvra 3.211/5
-10 Eugenio Chacarra 5.49/2
-10 Adrien Saddier 7.413/2
-9 Andreas Halvorsen 16.531/2
-9 Angel Ayora 9.417/2
-8 Clement Sordet 36.035/1
-8 Calum Hill 23.022/1
-8 Alex Fitzpatrick 18.017/1
-7 Dan Bradbury 55.054/1 
-7 Francesco Laporta 29.028/1
and 60.059/1 bar

Three factors made play tricky and are likely to remain that way in the final round. The first is the intense heat. Couvra said: "I'm really proud about my (birdie at the) 18th because I was really tired on the last few holes. It's quite difficult with the heat."

He added that the course is proving difficult: it is short but there is trouble when fairways and greens are missed. The final element to keep an eye on is the wind. Eugenio Chacarra said: "The wind was switching what felt like every ten seconds."

Couvra is seeking a second win of a superb rookie year but he acknowledged that he hasn't been a third round leader before. He did, however, polish off his Turkish Airlines Open win with a final round 64, and he also carded a Sunday 65 last time out.

A birdie to finish

Martin Couvra will take a one-shot lead into the final round. #ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/f9PGMVgBtj

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 28, 2025

Chacarra is also chasing a second DP World Tour win of his career and year. He's rather bizarrely been exactly 11 shots off the 54 hole pace in each of his last three starts. He isn't this week and is a live threat. 

As mentioned earlier this week, Adrien Saddier has been trying to win for a long time. "I keep knocking on that door," he said, "hopefully one day it will open."

Calum Hill, who was an in play pick after the first round, redeemed himself with an excellent round of 64. He's the third of the front-runners looking for win number two in 2025. 

Clement Sordet flew into contention with a lap even better than Hill's - a 62 - but he's a lot like his compatriot Saddier in having banged his head against the door for a long time without it opening. Alex Fitzpatrick is also looking for a first win but he's not been around anywhere near as long. 

With Couvra on-side as one of my each-way picks, and Hill in play, I'm reasonably content. If Bradbury were to sneak up towards 70.069/1 I might bite. Given the potential for big numbers (remember Ayora's 8 on a par-5) he could set a target but I'm also wary of that heat (and that Sunday is when the fatigue will really start to kick in).

I'll be back tomorrow morning with the final update of the week on the state of play in Detroit.

---

09:40 - June 28, 2025

The pace remains ridiculously fast in the motor city of Detroit. At the halfway stage we have three pacesetters on 14-under but there are 22 players within three shots of that lead which includes a traffic jam of no less than 15 players tied eighth on 11-under.

The pace is such that 5-under through 36 holes missed the cut. Here, however, is the other end of the leaderboard and prices at 09:40:

-14 Chris Kirk 8.27/1
-14 Philip Knowles 36.035/1
-14 Andrew Putnam 12.523/2
-13 Jackson Suber 42.041/1
-12 Aldrich Potgieter 25.024/1
-12 Mark Hubbard 26.025/1
-12 Michael Thorbjornsen 24.023/1
-11 and 11.010/1 bar

Kirk is a six-time PGA Tour winner and three of those successes required him to keep the pedal to the metal all week. He won the 2023 McGladrey Classic from a halfway lead, the only one of four such advantages he's converted. He's only drifted away from the action once (to T21) but that was in the inaugural edition of this tournament. 

He's 5-for-5 at making the cut at Detroit GC but yet to break the top 10. He's not had a good season but he's riding the wave of T12 in the US Open last time out, albeit he's gone from grinding pars to splashing birdies.

Knowles is in absolutely giddy territory. This is his 26th start on the PGA Tour and he has only one finish better than T40 which was T16 in this year's Puerto Rico Open. 

Putnam has played the course twice and missed the cut both times. He's been top 20 after 36 holes in three of his last four starts but only last time out in the Canadian Open did he feature in the top 10 after 72 holes. He's looking to add to his only PGA Tour win (seven years ago at the Barracuda Championship).

Suber is a rookie whose best finish yet was first time out at the Sony Open (sixth) but he was T18 last time out in the Canadian Open.

The market likes Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin at 11.010/1 and 14.013/1 respectively as they form part of that big group at 11-under. Two of Dave Tindall's each-way picks, Harry Hall and Hideki Matsuyama, are tucked in there too.

My Find Me a 100 Winner pick Ryo Hisatsune is bogey-free and 10-under. I'd have taken that, but he's T23!

Jake Knapp burst into contention with a second round 61 that was a significant improvement on his opening lap of 72. He's another at 11-under. He became, in the process, the first player in PGA Tour history to break 60 and post a 61 or lower in the same season. 

Power Knapp. pic.twitter.com/JePlA98WAI

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 27, 2025

I was half tempted by Nico Echavarria who carded 64-64-65-67 to win the Zozo Championship last Fall. He's also 11-under and 65.064/1. 

I like his going-low potential but his excellent run of form either side of New Year saw excellent Sunday scoring. In contrast, his last nine round fours have seen only one score below 72 (and that was a 70). It turned a possible into a probably not. 

Hold fire, then, until 54-holes are up and I'll be back this evening to look at the Italian Open ahead of the final round.

---

18:45 - June 27, 2025

It was a blustery day in Tuscany but low scoring was possible and two exciting youngsters were prominent among the significant movers. The Spaniard Angel Ayora added a 65 to his opening 66 to lead the tournament at halfway on 9-under 131. Meanwhile, one of my pre-tournament each-way picks, the Frenchman Martin Couvra, pieced together a 63 to be just one back of the pacesetter in a four-way tie for second.

Leaderboard and prices at 18:45:

-9 Angel Ayora 6.05/1
-8 Martin Couvra 7.06/1
-8 Andreas Halvorsen 18.017/1
-8 Dan Bradbury 14.013/1
-8 Marcel Schneider 12.011/1
-7 Adrien Saddier 17.016/1
-6 Eugenio Chacarra 19.018/1
-6 Ivan Cantero 36.035/1
-6 Francesco Laporta 16.531/2
-5 and 28.027/1 bar 

Those two youngsters share something other than promise - they also both played this course when it hosted a Challenge Tour event last year.

Ayora was fourth that week, shortly after winning in Poland - two results that set up his graduation to the main tour where he has bubbled rather than boiled so far. He started the season in Leopard Creek with what remains his best finish of fifth but he has added four top 20s since including two in his last three starts.

Like first round leader Dan Bradbury, who was solid in round two and remains gang in the hunt, Ayora signed off his last start with a 66 in the Netherlands. 

Angel Ayora finishes with a birdie to take the lead #ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/Q0Y4diWiK2

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 27, 2025

Couvra was last seen in Austria and he ended that week with a 65 for eighth. It was his sixth top 10 finish of the year with the highlight his maiden victory in Turkey. He was T12 on this course last summer.

Marcel Schneider, Adrien Saddier and Francesco Laporta are prominent on the leaderboard and make for intriguing cases. They're sort of like good full backs for Eintracht Frankfurt, Strasbourg and Lazio. Solid, not quite top drawer and haven't been know to score. They've played 153, 199 and 163 times respectively on the DP World Tour without lifting a trophy (combined winnings € 7.4 million). 

It would not be a surprise if they did win at some point, but they're the type you'd want to spot something the books hadn't and get on at a huge price pre-event, rather than be chasing at current prices. 

If it was a good day for my pick Couvra and a good-ish one for my Find Me a 100 Winner selection Freddy Schott (he's currently 4-under for the week), it was less good for in-play pick Calum Hill who slipped back to 2-under.

We'll keep the powder dry at halfway and hope to spy some value on Saturday evening. I'll be back tomorrow morning with a Detroit update.

---

09:10 - June 27, 2025

Never mind Rocket Mortage, the field was rocket-fuelled in round one at Detroit GC. 

Min Woo Lee, perhaps inspired by his sister Minjee's victory in last week's KPMG Women's PGA Championship, fired an early 9-under-par 63 that he must have thought would leave him top. But by the end of the day, two men had bettered it and another two equalled it. 

The leaderboard and prices at 09:10:

-10 Kevin Roy 17.016/1
-10 Aldrich Potgieter 10.519/2
-9 Min Woo Lee 11.521/2
-9 Mark Hubbard 20.019/1
-9 Max Greyserman 9.617/2
-8 Andrew Putnam 48.047/1
-7 and 17.016/1 bar

It's a bit of a scrum at this stage with 129 of the 156 field breaking par. Ryo Hisatsune, who both Dave Tindall and I were very keen on at the start of the week, shot a 5-under 67 which I'm happy with but he's still only T26!

Co-leader Roy has six Korn Ferry Tour top five finishes but none at this level - his best yet was sixth in this year's Puerto Rico Open which came off the back of a one shot 18-hole lead. 

Big-hitting Potgieter proved on the KFT that he can go low when conditions suit - he won with a 65 in the Bahamas and carded a 59 a few weeks later. He threatened a breakthrough in the Mexico Open when second and was seventh last time out in the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

A pair of course record 62s, carded 8 minutes apart (!)

Aldrich Potgieter and Kevin Roy share the lead @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/EQqbctmSKj

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 26, 2025

Lee's form has been heading backwards since he won the Houston Open in the spring but he was second in this tournament last year. 

I'd be reluctant to take any of the top five at this stage, preferring to take stock at halfway. There's nothing in the weather to suggest more difficult conditions so there could be more cavalry charging to come. 

Of the pre-tournament favourites, Ben Griffin is 17.016/1 after a 66 while Patrick Cantlay is 17.533/2 following the same score. Hisatsune, my Find Me a 100 Winner pick, has only dipped under 100 despite his bogey-free effort. Funny old game, Saint.

This is the seventh RM Classic at Detroit and the first six winners all broke 69 in each of the first three rounds. They were all within five blows of the lead after 18 holes and within three at halfway which enhances my feeling that we'll know more tomorrow morning. 

I'll be back this evening for a halfway update from Tuscany. 

---

19:00 - June 26, 2025

Ah, Tuscany. That wonderful corner of Italy that never loses its popularity. The rich journeyed there on the Grand Tour, the creative headed there in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wealthy Brits like to holiday there, and, at this week's host course the Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, 21st century visitors like to chill out.

Maybe not this week though. Golf and wellness are usually opposing rather than combined forces - and that counts for at least double on tour. Think of Jeong Weon Ko, for example, who is going to struggle to find "his balance in harmony with nature" or "rediscover himself through Mother Earth" after three double bogeys and five bogeys left him plumb last after 18 holes.

Dan Bradbury, on the other hand, is probably heading to the humid zone to cash in on his emotional, mental, and physical well-being while he can. The Englishman carded a 6-under-par 64 to grab a one shot lead.

Here's the 18-hole leaderboard with prices to back at 19:00:

-6 Dan Bradbury 12.523/2
-5 Andreas Halvorsen 42.041/1
-5 Francesco Laporta 9.08/1
-4 Angel Ayora 21.020/1
-4 Wil Besseling 130.0129/1
-4 Marcel Schneider 29.028/1
-4 Kazuma Kobori 30.029/1
-4 Brandon Robinson Thompson 25.024/1
-3 and 24.023/1 bar

Bradbury was backed as high as 160.0159/1 before the off and was generally available at 120.0119/1. A two-time winner on the DP World Tour he has already won wire-to-wire: he led after every round when winning the 2022 Joburg Open and was also the halfway leader when he took last year's Open de France.

His only other first round lead came in the 2023 Nedbank Challenge and he hung around for a top five finish.

He started 2025 making just three cuts in 10 starts with a best of T32 but was seventh last time out in the KLM Open with a final round 66. That was just a third top 10 finish in his last 41 starts - the others were the win in France and ... T10 in last year's Italian Open.

So what came after that round? A sensory shower? A Kneipp pool? Thalasso therapy? No - see below. You can take the Yorkshireman out of Yorkshire ...

What do you do after you shoot a new course record in sweltering heat? #ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/2F8OCJFdig

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 26, 2025

Laporta is the best of the home hopes and still seeking a first win at this level after 163 starts. It's the third time he's been in the top three after 18 holes, but he's yet to convert such a start into a top 20 finish.

Halvorsen is in his rookie campaign and it's been pure boom or bust: 12 starts, 10 failures to crack the top 50, but fifth in Mauritius and sixth in India in the honourable exceptions.

Laporta arrived on home soil fresh from three top 30s (and seven of them in the season) and that's contributed to him being favoured over Bradbury and his wins. I'm not sure that's correct but I'm also not keen to bite at the price.

I will add Calum Hill, however. The Scot is a winner this year (Joburg Open) and I considered him pre-event because I alighted on Adamstal as a decent pointer. Hill won there in 2019 and had contended in 2018.

He missed a few opportunities in his 67 and if he can find a few more putts he can contend. He's added at 46.045/1. I'll be back in the morning with an update from Detroit.

---

Dave Tindall's RM Classic each-way picks:
Hideki Matsuyama @ 33/134.00
Ryo Hisatsune @ 70/171.00
Harry Hall @ 30/131.00

My Italian Open each-way picks:
Ewen Ferguson @ 25/126.00
Martin Couvra @ 30/131.00
Darius Van Driel @ 110/1111.00

My Find Me a 100 Winner Picks:
Freddy Schott @ 210.0209/1
Ryo Hisatsune @ 100.099/1
Rico Hoey @ 100.099/1

In-Play Picks:
Calum Hill @ 46.0

---

Now read more golf previews and tip here.

---