In this week’s “The Starter,” PGA professional Brendon Elliott, a three-decade industry veteran, provides his insights for RG. Elliott breaks down all the action from the PGA TOUR, the U.S. Senior Open, and the LPGA Tour.
Sometimes golf breaks your heart. Sometimes it lifts you to places you never thought possible. This week gave us both in equal measure.
Across three tours, we watched dreams come true and fall apart, often separated by nothing more than the cruel bounce of a ball or the steady hands of a 20-year-old who refused to let the moment overwhelm him. From Detroit’s marathon playoff to Colorado’s grinding battle and Michigan’s team heartbreak, professional golf reminded us once again why we can’t look away.
PGA TOUR: The Kid Who Wouldn’t Blink
At 20 years old, Aldrich Potgieter shouldn’t have been the calmest player in that five-hole playoff at the Rocket Classic. He should have been nervous—maybe even overwhelmed by the weight of chasing his first PGA TOUR victory while two seasoned pros tried to crush his dreams.
Instead, he was the one asking for more.
“I finally got one to the hole,” Potgieter said after draining that 18-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole—a statement so beautifully understated it almost undersells what we just witnessed. This wasn’t luck or beginner’s fortune—this was a young man who understood the assignment and executed when everything was on the line.
The playoff itself felt like watching three different approaches to pressure. Chris Kirk, at 40 with six Tour wins under his belt, had the best early chance to end it all. That 9-foot putt on the first playoff hole? It slid by, like so many others have over the years. Experience sometimes carries its own burden—the knowledge of how many opportunities can slip away.
Max Greyserman played the role we’ve seen too many times before: the guy who does everything right—except finish. Four runner-up finishes now without a victory. The 12-foot putt in regulation that would have ended it before we even got to overtime? Missed. Multiple chances in the playoff? Same story. Golf can be merciless to those who knock on the door repeatedly.
Then there was Potgieter, hitting bombs off the tee (his drive on the par-5 14th traveled 363 yards) and treating each playoff hole like it was just another shot. When you’re that young, maybe you don’t fully grasp how hard these moments are supposed to be. Maybe that’s exactly why he succeeded where others faltered.
The South African becomes one of the youngest players on Tour—and certainly one of its biggest hitters. More importantly, he’s proven he belongs when the lights are brightest. That’s the kind of quality you can’t teach.
PGA TOUR Champions: When Grinding Becomes an Art Form
Three thousand miles away in Colorado Springs, Padraig Harrington was putting on a different kind of clinic at the U.S. Senior Open. If Potgieter’s win was about fearless youth, Harrington’s was about the patient wisdom that comes with having been there before.
Playing alongside Stewart Cink for four straight days created an atmosphere more like match play than stroke play, and Harrington seemed to relish every moment. Seven consecutive pars to close out the championship aren’t exactly highlight-reel material, but they were perfect for what the moment demanded.
The winning moment came on that final approach shot—8 feet from the flag, while Cink sat 30 yards closer but watched his ball spin back to 35 feet after landing on a ledge. Sometimes, golf rewards patience and precision over raw aggression. At 53, Harrington has learned to pick his spots.
“It really is the putter that matters,” Cink had said about The Broadmoor’s tricky greens—and he turned out to be prophetic.
He needed two more putts than Harrington on Sunday—exactly the margin of victory. Golf can be that simple, and that cruel.
For Cink, making his U.S. Senior Open debut at 52, the runner-up finish stung but also announced his arrival as a force on the senior circuit. He hit 64 greens in regulation over four rounds—more than anyone in the field—but couldn’t quite convert when it mattered most. Still, you get the sense this won’t be his last chance.
The tournament’s most compelling subplot belonged to Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who, at 61, fired the week’s lowest round (64) and briefly threatened to steal the show. The ageless Spaniard currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup standings and continues to play golf like someone half his age. His final-hole bogey after yanking his tee shot left ended his chances, but watching Jiménez compete at this level remains one of golf’s great pleasures.
LPGA Tour: Partnership Dreams and Playoff Heartbreak
Team golf creates its own unique pressures. You’re not just playing for yourself—you’re carrying someone else’s dreams too. That weight seemed to hang heavy over the Dow Championship playoff, where inches and emotions collided in the cruelest possible way.
Lexi Thompson hasn’t won since 2019, a drought that feels impossible given her talent but very real given golf’s unforgiving nature. Paired with Megan Khang, she seemed destined to finally break through after their spectacular 60 in the final round’s four-ball format brought them to 20-under.
Thompson’s 8-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to force the playoff was pure clutch—the kind of putt that champions make when everything depends on it. But then came the playoff, and Khang’s 5-foot birdie attempt that was “on the low side of the hole from the start,” as one observer noted. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
For Somi Lee and Jin Hee Im, both in their second year on the LPGA Tour, the victory represented something bigger than just another win. Lee’s 8-foot playoff winner and her stunned reaction afterward—“I can’t believe it”—captured the pure joy of achieving something that seemed impossible just moments before.
Both players were prolific winners back home in Korea (Im with six KLPGA victories, Lee with five), but winning in America carries a different weight. The pressure, the competition, the stakes—everything amplifies. That they did it together, in a playoff, makes it even more special.
“Bummer to miss the last one in the playoff to force another hole, but very happy how we played,” Khang said afterward, showing the kind of grace that makes you root for her next time.
What It All Means
Golf delivered its usual mix of magic and heartbreak this week, but the human stories beneath the scores are what linger. Potgieter’s fearless youth. Harrington’s patient experience. Thompson’s continued pursuit of a breakthrough. Greyserman’s persistent knock on the door that hasn’t opened yet.
These tournaments remind us why we watch—not just for the perfect shots or the dramatic finishes, but for the very human struggles playing out on golf’s biggest stages. Some weeks you’re the hero. Some weeks you’re the one walking away wondering what might have been.
The beauty of professional golf is that it always offers another chance, another week, another opportunity for someone to step forward and claim their moment. This week belonged to Potgieter, Harrington, Lee, and Im.
Next week? That story hasn’t been written yet.
And that’s exactly why we’ll be watching.
