University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
10/28/2026 2:14:00 PM | Golf
Malan Potgieter and Eli Ortego were easily the two top players from UL’s last two golf seasons, and both hit milestones in their professional careers this week.
Potgieter made his professional debut on the Sunshine Tour last Thursday-Sunday, finishing sixth in the Stella Artois Players Championship held at the Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Kirkwood, South Africa, native and former Ragin’ Cajun All-American began a schedule of as many as 14 Sunshine Tour events running through mid-March.
Ortego, who finished his UL career in 2025 and claimed the Sun Belt Conference individual crown during his collegiate career, qualified for his first PGA Tour appearance as a professional and will participate in the VidantaWorld Mexico Open at the Vidanta Vallarta Golf Club in Vallarta, Mexico. The Lafayette native earned a spot in the Thursday-Sunday PGA Tour stop in Monday qualifying last week.
“It doesn’t surprise me that both of them are starting to have success professionally,” said UL golf coach Theo Sliman. “Both of them did great things in our program, and more importantly both of them have been conducting themselves and have approached their games as professionals for several years in preparation for this.”
Potgieter, who won the NCAA Athens Regional near the end of UL’s spring season and set a national collegiate record for consecutive bogey-free holes in postseason competition, shot 70-65-70-70—275 (13-under-par) to finish sixth in the Stella Artois event. He earned 90,750 South African rands (equivalent to approximately $5,500 U.S. dollars) in the opener of his first pro season.
The Sunshine Tour qualifies its top finishers at the end of the season to the Hotel Planner Tour, the developmental tour for the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour). Potgieter earned a spot on the Sunshine Tour from his World Amateur Golf Ranking, where he reached as high as 39th this year.
“To finish top 10 in his first pro tournament, that’s pretty impressive,” Sliman said. “He’s been locked in on this goal since he arrived on campus, and when you have a player that comes in as a freshman that has the maturity and mindset of a professional, that translates into success in college. Seeing his success in his first pro start is a testament to his approach to his game.”
Ortego will tee off at 9:44 a.m. (CDT) over the 7,337-yard par-71 Vidanta Vallarta course, with the 144-player field taking aim at a $6 million purse with $1.2 million to the winner. The field includes notable players Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Tom Kim and Patton Kizzire. Segments of the tournament will air on The Golf Channel starting Thursday.
Monday qualifiers for international events on the PGA Tour are normally held one week prior to regular Monday qualifying. Ortego shared medalist honors with Trent Williams at the qualifying event held last Monday at the Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Club, shooting a five-under-par 67 with birdies on his last two holes, the last of which helped him avoid a playoff for one of the four available Monday qualifying spots.
“This is a tremendous, exciting opportunity to be able to watch him debut in Mexico,” Sliman said. “There’s a lot of scenarios that can happen with the new three-tier PGA Tour setup. He’s already been playing on the PGA Tour Americas, and if he can make the cut this week that’ll help him with status, and the big dream is to finish top 10 which would get him in next week on the PGA Tour.
“The biggest thing is what he brings back with him as far as experience. I told him he belongs up there and he hears that from me, but when he goes inside the roes and walks with the PGA Tour guys, I hope he realizes that he belongs there and that will be a big boost to his confidence.”
