Aldrich Potgieter probably would have liked another round of the DP World Tour’s BMW Australian PGA Championship, but he will be satisfied with the share of eighth he pulled off on Sunday with his closing level-par 71.
It was a scrappy final round for the South African who is about to launch his career on the PGA Tour in the United States, but his three birdies and three bogeys left him level with players like former world number one Jason Day of Australia, and up-and-coming Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. He was also one ahead of another top Aussie, Min Woo Lee.
In the end, that closing 71 was not in the same class as his par of 67s in the first and second rounds, and, had the tournament not been shortened to 54 holes after the second day was lost to bad weather, he might have had a chance of hiving himself a shot at another low round.
He finished on eight-under for the tournament, six behind the winner Elvis Smylie of Australia. It was Smylie’s maiden win on the DP World Tour in just his 16th start, and his 14-under held off the man who gave him a scholarship as a youngster, Cameron Smith, by two strokes.
Ryan van Velzen finished with a one-over-par 72 to slip into a share of 24th on five-under-par.
