University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Monday, May 18
Athens, Ga.
8 a.m. ET
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
NCAA Athens Regional
Potgieter Tees Off Monday at NCAA Athens Regional
5/17/2026 6:20:00 PM | Golf
Louisiana standout tees off at 9:34 a.m. CT
ATHENS, Ga. – For the third time in four years, UL's Malan Potgieter will tee it up in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships Monday.
One day after his 23rd birthday on Sunday, the Ragin' Cajuns senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, will join 13 teams and 10 individuals taking part in the Athens (Ga.) Regional being played at the University of Georgia course. Potgieter is the top-ranked individual in the field and will open his first of three rounds at 9:34 a.m. (CDT) off the No. 1 tee.
Potgieter, who earlier this month was named to Team International for the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup in July, will be playing in the NCAA's as an individual for the second straight year. He was part of the Cajun squad that won the Sun Belt Conference title in 2023 and played in the Norman (Okla.) Regional. He tied for 11th to lead all individuals last year at the Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional.
The top five teams and the low individual after the three rounds at the Athens Regional and each of the other five regionals around the country will qualify for the NCAA Championships May 29-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
"He's very familiar with an atmosphere like this," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, who was at the course with Potgieter for a Sunday practice round. "Ranking-wise he's up here with the best of the best in his field, it's just a matter of executing and sticking with his process. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he advances on to nationals."
The field in the Athens Regional includes top-seeded Auburn, Illinois, Vanderbilt, BYU, host Georgia, Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice and Sun Belt member Southern Miss as at-large teams, along with Ivy League champion Harvard and Northeast Conference champion Howard.
Four individuals from the Sun Belt are in the NCAA field, and all are at the Athens Regional as the top four seeded individuals. Potgieter is paired with second-seeded Hugo Thyr of South Alabama in the opening round, along with Howard's Bear Huff, and Sun Belt individual champion Max Bengtsson and Drew Sykes of Coastal Carolina are the third and fourth individual seeds who will take on the 7,258-yard par-72 UGA layout.
"The golf course is in phenomenal shape," Sliman said. "I really believe the golf course does suit Malan's game … there aren't many that don't suit him, but this is a little more what he's used to back home. It's very undulated, bent grass greens, long and very hilly, it's a course that I think he can score on."
The NCAA field includes 81 teams and 45 individuals playing in six regionals all starting Monday. The other regional sites are the Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, N.C., the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, the Ohio State Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio, the Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore., and the Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz.
Sun Belt champion Arkansas State is the number eight seed at the Marana Regional, and Georgia Southern received an at-large bid and is the number nine seed at the Corvallis Regional.
Potgieter finished the regular season with a 69.67 stroke average, under UL's school record for stroke average. He had six top-three individual finishes – one of three players nationally to reach that number – and had a stretch of nine of 10 tournaments finishing in the individual top four.
The senior had two individual wins during the year, taking the title at the season-opening Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek in Choudrant, and claiming his second straight championship at UL's own Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club. He was the first Cajun to win the Classics individual title in 2025, and became the first two-time Classics champion this March when he won by a three-stroke margin.
Live scoring is available online at scoreboard.clippd.com.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@RaginCajunsGolf) or check RaginCajuns.com for Louisiana golf updates.
One day after his 23rd birthday on Sunday, the Ragin' Cajuns senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, will join 13 teams and 10 individuals taking part in the Athens (Ga.) Regional being played at the University of Georgia course. Potgieter is the top-ranked individual in the field and will open his first of three rounds at 9:34 a.m. (CDT) off the No. 1 tee.
Potgieter, who earlier this month was named to Team International for the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup in July, will be playing in the NCAA's as an individual for the second straight year. He was part of the Cajun squad that won the Sun Belt Conference title in 2023 and played in the Norman (Okla.) Regional. He tied for 11th to lead all individuals last year at the Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional.
The top five teams and the low individual after the three rounds at the Athens Regional and each of the other five regionals around the country will qualify for the NCAA Championships May 29-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
"He's very familiar with an atmosphere like this," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, who was at the course with Potgieter for a Sunday practice round. "Ranking-wise he's up here with the best of the best in his field, it's just a matter of executing and sticking with his process. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he advances on to nationals."
The field in the Athens Regional includes top-seeded Auburn, Illinois, Vanderbilt, BYU, host Georgia, Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice and Sun Belt member Southern Miss as at-large teams, along with Ivy League champion Harvard and Northeast Conference champion Howard.
Four individuals from the Sun Belt are in the NCAA field, and all are at the Athens Regional as the top four seeded individuals. Potgieter is paired with second-seeded Hugo Thyr of South Alabama in the opening round, along with Howard's Bear Huff, and Sun Belt individual champion Max Bengtsson and Drew Sykes of Coastal Carolina are the third and fourth individual seeds who will take on the 7,258-yard par-72 UGA layout.
"The golf course is in phenomenal shape," Sliman said. "I really believe the golf course does suit Malan's game … there aren't many that don't suit him, but this is a little more what he's used to back home. It's very undulated, bent grass greens, long and very hilly, it's a course that I think he can score on."
The NCAA field includes 81 teams and 45 individuals playing in six regionals all starting Monday. The other regional sites are the Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, N.C., the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, the Ohio State Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio, the Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore., and the Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz.
Sun Belt champion Arkansas State is the number eight seed at the Marana Regional, and Georgia Southern received an at-large bid and is the number nine seed at the Corvallis Regional.
Potgieter finished the regular season with a 69.67 stroke average, under UL's school record for stroke average. He had six top-three individual finishes – one of three players nationally to reach that number – and had a stretch of nine of 10 tournaments finishing in the individual top four.
The senior had two individual wins during the year, taking the title at the season-opening Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek in Choudrant, and claiming his second straight championship at UL's own Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club. He was the first Cajun to win the Classics individual title in 2025, and became the first two-time Classics champion this March when he won by a three-stroke margin.
Live scoring is available online at scoreboard.clippd.com.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@RaginCajunsGolf) or check RaginCajuns.com for Louisiana golf updates.
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/ Golf
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