PGA Tour Winner Confirms Reason For Bank Of Utah Championship Withdrawal

Aldrich Potgieter has explained the reason for his withdrawal from the Bank of Utah Championship.

The talented South African carded an opening round of 71 at the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Fall event, which is taking place at Black Desert Golf Course.

However, he withdrew before the start of the second round, with the big-hitting star revealing it was down to illness.

He wrote on his Instagram Stories: “Hey everyone, just wanted to clear things up since I’ve been getting a lot of messages. I had to withdraw after round one because I came down with some pretty bad food poisoning (or a stomach bug). Nothing serious just need some rest to recover. Appreciate all the messages and support.”

The 21-year-old is in his rookie PGA Tour season, having placed 29^th on last year’s Korn Ferry Tour points list to earn his card.

He already has a PGA Tour title to his name, too, after winning the Rocket Classic in June. That secured full playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the next two years, but there is still plenty to play for in the FedEx Cup Fall for the big-hitting star.

He is currently 52^nd in the standings, with the goal of finishing between 51^st and 60^th to qualify for next season’s Signature Events, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

On Friday, the PGA Tour released a video interview with Potgieter, where he said, "Getting into those first two events... would be huge for me."

While Potgieter's withdrawal in Utah will do nothing to help those chances, the reason for his early exit should at least quell rumors among fans that he could be on LIV Golf’s radar.

That suggestion seems even more unlikely, given the news reported by Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter that Potgieter is expected to leave GSE Worldwide for Entertainment Sports Partners.

They also represent fellow South African Ernie Els and, as Carpenter pointed out on X, the four-time Major-winning legend has been a vocal critic of LIV Golf since its inception in 2022.

Potgieter isn’t the only player to cut short his appearance at the event.

Lanto Griffin withdrew during the first round, and he was joined by Vince Covello, who withdrew following his opening round of 81.

Three more players, Emiliano Grillo, Camillo Villegas and Gordon Sargent, withdrew during the second round.

At the halfway stage, sponsor invite and PGA Tour Americas star, Michael Brennan, led the way on 10-under following rounds of 67 and 65.

That gave him a one-shot advantage over three players, Jackson Suber, Pierceson Coody and Justin Lower.