University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Tuesday, May 19
Athens, Ga.
8 a.m. ET
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
NCAA Athens Regional
Potgieter Moves To Second at NCAA Athens Regional
5/19/2026 7:09:00 PM | Golf
Senior fires 6-under-65 to move to within one stroke of individual lead
ATHENS, Ga. – It was going to be very difficult for UL's Malan Potgieter to match his Monday opening round at the NCAA Division I Golf Championship's Athens Regional. After all, his first-round five-under-par 66 had him tied for second place and was one of only two bogey-free rounds from the entire 75-player field.
So the Ragin' Cajun senior went out Tuesday and did even better.
Potgieter, the top-ranked individual in the Athens field, had a second straight bogey-free round, and this time added an eagle as part of a six-under 65 that has him in second place going into Wednesday's final round.
The Kirkwood, South Africa, product, posted four birdies and an eagle on the 556-yard par-five seventh hole to finish two rounds at 11-under 131 for solo second place. He trails Vanderbilt's Will Hartman by one shot entering Wednesday's final trip around the 7,258-yard par-71 University of Georgia Course, after Hartman had Tuesday's low round with an eight-under 63 for a 12-under 130 total.
"Wow is just an understatement," said UL coach Theo Sliman. "I've seen him play a lot of good golf over the past four years, but these two rounds rank right up with the best I've seen him play. He very much likes this golf course, and he is in such good control of his ball."
Potgieter, the low individual player by nine shots among the nine individuals in the field, is one of only three players in the country among all six regionals and 450 total players to be bogey-free after two rounds. Ryder Cowan of Oklahoma and Jorge Martin Sampedro of Texas-Rio Grande Valley also played the first two rounds without a bogey at the Corvallis and Bryan Regionals respectively.
Potgieter strung six pars on Tuesday before the eagle at the seventh hole when he hit a 5-wood to 15 feet on his second shot. He followed that with four more birdies at the par-three eighth, the par-five 12th, the par-four 15th and the par-five 17th hole. He has played the six par-fives in seven-under-par over the first two days and has missed only one green in regulation over two rounds.
"Tiger Woods said that pin-high wins and Malan's been pin high in probably 90 percent of the holes he's played," Sliman said. "Every par-five he's hit a 5-wood in … it's a relatively new club in his bag and it's definitely the MVP in his bag. Seeing him drop that putt on the seventh gave him a good boost."
Potgieter now has five bogey-free rounds this season, the other three coming during UL's regular season when he compiled a 69.67 stroke average. During his third career appearance in the NCAA Championships he's dropped that average to 69.43, well under UL's school record for single-season stroke average.
Josiah Gilbert of Auburn, the first-round leader, is in third place at 65-68—133 (-9) and Jon Ed Steed of Vanderbilt and Cooper Claycomb of Louisville are tied for fourth at 134. Vanderbilt leads the team standings at 22-under 546, three shots ahead of Louisville and eight ahead of Auburn.
The top five teams and the low individual not on one of the top five teams after Wednesday's final round will qualify for the NCAA Championships May 29-June 3 at Omni LaCosta Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Potgieter finished 11th in the field last year, narrowly missing a trip to the national finals.
"He's locked in and his confidence is very high," Sliman said. "The big key for him is just stay in the present and keep doing what he's doing. I tell him at every tournament that he has the highest golf IQ in the field and I fully believe that."
Potgieter will tee off for the third straight day at 9:34 a.m. (CDT) Wednesday. 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.
So the Ragin' Cajun senior went out Tuesday and did even better.
Potgieter, the top-ranked individual in the Athens field, had a second straight bogey-free round, and this time added an eagle as part of a six-under 65 that has him in second place going into Wednesday's final round.
The Kirkwood, South Africa, product, posted four birdies and an eagle on the 556-yard par-five seventh hole to finish two rounds at 11-under 131 for solo second place. He trails Vanderbilt's Will Hartman by one shot entering Wednesday's final trip around the 7,258-yard par-71 University of Georgia Course, after Hartman had Tuesday's low round with an eight-under 63 for a 12-under 130 total.
"Wow is just an understatement," said UL coach Theo Sliman. "I've seen him play a lot of good golf over the past four years, but these two rounds rank right up with the best I've seen him play. He very much likes this golf course, and he is in such good control of his ball."
Potgieter, the low individual player by nine shots among the nine individuals in the field, is one of only three players in the country among all six regionals and 450 total players to be bogey-free after two rounds. Ryder Cowan of Oklahoma and Jorge Martin Sampedro of Texas-Rio Grande Valley also played the first two rounds without a bogey at the Corvallis and Bryan Regionals respectively.
Potgieter strung six pars on Tuesday before the eagle at the seventh hole when he hit a 5-wood to 15 feet on his second shot. He followed that with four more birdies at the par-three eighth, the par-five 12th, the par-four 15th and the par-five 17th hole. He has played the six par-fives in seven-under-par over the first two days and has missed only one green in regulation over two rounds.
"Tiger Woods said that pin-high wins and Malan's been pin high in probably 90 percent of the holes he's played," Sliman said. "Every par-five he's hit a 5-wood in … it's a relatively new club in his bag and it's definitely the MVP in his bag. Seeing him drop that putt on the seventh gave him a good boost."
Potgieter now has five bogey-free rounds this season, the other three coming during UL's regular season when he compiled a 69.67 stroke average. During his third career appearance in the NCAA Championships he's dropped that average to 69.43, well under UL's school record for single-season stroke average.
Josiah Gilbert of Auburn, the first-round leader, is in third place at 65-68—133 (-9) and Jon Ed Steed of Vanderbilt and Cooper Claycomb of Louisville are tied for fourth at 134. Vanderbilt leads the team standings at 22-under 546, three shots ahead of Louisville and eight ahead of Auburn.
The top five teams and the low individual not on one of the top five teams after Wednesday's final round will qualify for the NCAA Championships May 29-June 3 at Omni LaCosta Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Potgieter finished 11th in the field last year, narrowly missing a trip to the national finals.
"He's locked in and his confidence is very high," Sliman said. "The big key for him is just stay in the present and keep doing what he's doing. I tell him at every tournament that he has the highest golf IQ in the field and I fully believe that."
Potgieter will tee off for the third straight day at 9:34 a.m. (CDT) Wednesday. 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.
Players Mentioned
/ Golf
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Theo Sliman Media Availability (Mar 4, 2024)
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Head Coach Theo Sliman Media Availability (Mar. 6, 2023)
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