Move over Bryson DeChambeau. The American, who is known almost as much for his big-hitting exploits as anything else, has been outdriven by an amateur so far at the 2023 US Open.
Instead, it is the relatively unknown name of 18-year-old Aldrich Potgieter who tops the distance standings after 36 holes at Los Angeles Country Club. The South African has averaged a whopping 339.9 yards off the tee, putting him clear of DeChambeau in second on 334.1 yards
DeChambeau underwent a massive physical transformation at the end of 2019 in order to add distance to his game and it paid immediate dividends as he won the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot by six shots. However, after experiencing a slump in form last year and in the early part of 2023, he decided to slim down following some health concerns due to the weight he'd put on.
He is now starting to show signs of the player who reached as high as No. 4 in the world rankings. DeChambeau finished in tie for fourth at the PGA Championship and is one-under at the halfway point of the third men's Major of the year, but trails Potgieter when it comes to distance off the tee this week.
Potgieter averaged 350.1 yards in round one and 329.8 yards in round two, while DeChambeau's stats were more consistent at 334.5 and 333.7 yards on Thursday and Friday respectively. Interestingly, another amateur, Gordon Sargent occupies third spot, emphasising the recent trend in the men's game.
DeChambeau will, however, have a chance to make amends over the weekend after Potgieter impressively made the cut at LACC. The South African fired rounds of 70 and 72 on his US Open debut to get through on the number, which fell at two-over.
Potgieter won last year's Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes to book his spot in the field this week. He missed the cut at The Open last year and The Masters this year but will have the chance to battle it out for the low amateur medal at the US Open with Sargent and Maxwell Moldovan.
