University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, May 29
Carlsbad, Calif.
4:00 p.m. (CDT)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
NCAA Championships
Another Bogey-Free Round Boosts Potgieter into Top 10 at NCAA Championship
5/29/2026 10:42:00 PM | Golf
Carded four birdies in a 68 to position himself among the contenders in the early stages
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Golf senior standout Malan Potgieter had the nation's longest bogey-free streak going into Friday's opening round of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.
He still has that streak.
The senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, put together his fourth straight round without a bogey in postseason competition on Friday, May 29, carding a four-under 68 over the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa layout to stand tied for fifth individually in the 156-player field entering Saturday's second round.
Potgieter is second among the individual participants, two strokes back of William Jennings of Alabama who posted a six-under 66 while paired with Potgieter in the opening round.
Jennings, Ian Maspat of San Diego and Connor Williams of Arizona State share the individual lead at 66, with Baylor Larrabee fourth at five-under 67 and Potgieter in a four-way tie for fifth, two strokes out of the lead.
"I know people understand how impressive just having one bogey-free round is, especially in a pressure situation like the postseason," said Ragin' Cajuns head coach Theo Sliman. "Now he's had four of those in a row. It's been really impressive to watch last week at regionals and today."
Potgieter, who shared medalist honors last week at the Athens (Ga.) Regional with a career-best 14-under 199 54-hole total, birdied the 415-yard par-four first hole before reeling off 11 straight pars. His second birdie came on the 428-yard par-four 13th where he made a 12-foot putt, and he followed with a birdie on the short 371-yard par-four 15th to get to three-under.
He added a final birdie at the par-four 17th when he rolled in a 35-footer, and parred the 605-yard par-five 18th to cap off his fourth straight bogey-free round.
"I didn't do anything overly great, I just kind of stayed patient on the front line," said Potgieter, who will tee off at 10:42 a.m. (CDT) off the 10th tee in Saturday's second round. "On the back nine I just had a few putts drop. The long putt on 17 helped a lot."
Potgieter hit 16 greens even with what Sliman called a slow start.
"He was missing some left early, which is uncharacteristic of him, but he figured it out quickly," he said. "He was just patient, and after he made that second birdie on 13 he said to me patience pays off. He thought his way around the course, never showed any signs of stress, just one of his typical mind-set rounds."
The senior has now played 78 straight competition holes without a bogey, far and away the longest such streak in Division I postseason play.
"I'm really happy with my ball striking," he said of the four-round bogey-free streak. "Whenever I have hit a bad shot my putting and chipping have come through for me. The longest par putt I had all day today was probably six feet on the third hole."
Two more rounds of stroke play are scheduled Saturday and Sunday. The top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will play a final stroke-play round Monday to determine the individual champion and the eight teams that will advance to match play competition Tuesday and Wednesday.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 29, 2026, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (7,538 yards, par 72), Carlsbad, Calif.;
FIRST DAY RESULTS
TEAM SCORES
1.UCLA 280; 2. Auburn 284; 3. Pepperdine 285; T4. Duke 286; T4. San Diego 286; T6. Vanderbilt 287; T6. Texas 287; T6. North Carolina 287; T6. Arizona 287; T10. Arkansas 288; T10. Virginia 288; T12. Florida 291; T12. Arizona State 291; T12. Stanford 291; T15. Oklahoma 292; T15. Georgia 292; T15. Tennessee 292; T18. Chattanooga 294; T18. Louisville 294; T20. Oklahoma State 295; T20. Arkansas State 295; T22. Purdue 296; T22. Brigham Young 296; 24. Southern California 297; 25. Mississippi State 298; 26. Texas A&M 299; 27. Memphis 301; T28. LSU 303; T28. Ole Miss 303; 30. Florida State 307.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1. Ian Maspat, San Diego, 66; T1. Connor Williams, Arizona State, 66; T1. William Jennings, Alabama (IND) 66; 4. Baylor Larrabee, UCLA, 67; T5. Malan Potgieter, Louisiana, 68; T5. Luke Potter, Texas, 68; T5. Ben James, Virginia, 68; T5. Filip Jakubcik, Arizona, 68.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
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.
He still has that streak.
The senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, put together his fourth straight round without a bogey in postseason competition on Friday, May 29, carding a four-under 68 over the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa layout to stand tied for fifth individually in the 156-player field entering Saturday's second round.
Potgieter is second among the individual participants, two strokes back of William Jennings of Alabama who posted a six-under 66 while paired with Potgieter in the opening round.
Jennings, Ian Maspat of San Diego and Connor Williams of Arizona State share the individual lead at 66, with Baylor Larrabee fourth at five-under 67 and Potgieter in a four-way tie for fifth, two strokes out of the lead.
"I know people understand how impressive just having one bogey-free round is, especially in a pressure situation like the postseason," said Ragin' Cajuns head coach Theo Sliman. "Now he's had four of those in a row. It's been really impressive to watch last week at regionals and today."
Potgieter, who shared medalist honors last week at the Athens (Ga.) Regional with a career-best 14-under 199 54-hole total, birdied the 415-yard par-four first hole before reeling off 11 straight pars. His second birdie came on the 428-yard par-four 13th where he made a 12-foot putt, and he followed with a birdie on the short 371-yard par-four 15th to get to three-under.
He added a final birdie at the par-four 17th when he rolled in a 35-footer, and parred the 605-yard par-five 18th to cap off his fourth straight bogey-free round.
"I didn't do anything overly great, I just kind of stayed patient on the front line," said Potgieter, who will tee off at 10:42 a.m. (CDT) off the 10th tee in Saturday's second round. "On the back nine I just had a few putts drop. The long putt on 17 helped a lot."
Potgieter hit 16 greens even with what Sliman called a slow start.
"He was missing some left early, which is uncharacteristic of him, but he figured it out quickly," he said. "He was just patient, and after he made that second birdie on 13 he said to me patience pays off. He thought his way around the course, never showed any signs of stress, just one of his typical mind-set rounds."
The senior has now played 78 straight competition holes without a bogey, far and away the longest such streak in Division I postseason play.
"I'm really happy with my ball striking," he said of the four-round bogey-free streak. "Whenever I have hit a bad shot my putting and chipping have come through for me. The longest par putt I had all day today was probably six feet on the third hole."
Two more rounds of stroke play are scheduled Saturday and Sunday. The top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will play a final stroke-play round Monday to determine the individual champion and the eight teams that will advance to match play competition Tuesday and Wednesday.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 29, 2026, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (7,538 yards, par 72), Carlsbad, Calif.;
FIRST DAY RESULTS
TEAM SCORES
1.UCLA 280; 2. Auburn 284; 3. Pepperdine 285; T4. Duke 286; T4. San Diego 286; T6. Vanderbilt 287; T6. Texas 287; T6. North Carolina 287; T6. Arizona 287; T10. Arkansas 288; T10. Virginia 288; T12. Florida 291; T12. Arizona State 291; T12. Stanford 291; T15. Oklahoma 292; T15. Georgia 292; T15. Tennessee 292; T18. Chattanooga 294; T18. Louisville 294; T20. Oklahoma State 295; T20. Arkansas State 295; T22. Purdue 296; T22. Brigham Young 296; 24. Southern California 297; 25. Mississippi State 298; 26. Texas A&M 299; 27. Memphis 301; T28. LSU 303; T28. Ole Miss 303; 30. Florida State 307.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1. Ian Maspat, San Diego, 66; T1. Connor Williams, Arizona State, 66; T1. William Jennings, Alabama (IND) 66; 4. Baylor Larrabee, UCLA, 67; T5. Malan Potgieter, Louisiana, 68; T5. Luke Potter, Texas, 68; T5. Ben James, Virginia, 68; T5. Filip Jakubcik, Arizona, 68.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
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.
- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Players Mentioned
/ Golf
Malan Potgieter Media Availability (May 11 2026)
Monday, May 11
Theo Sliman & Malan Potgieter Media Availability (Mar 2, 2026)
Monday, March 02
Theo Sliman Media Availability (Mar 4, 2024)
Monday, March 04
Head Coach Theo Sliman Media Availability (Mar. 6, 2023)
Monday, March 06
