Aldrich Potgieter opened the second round of the 2026 US PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club at 4-under par through four holes, a fast start that kept him near the top of a leaderboard that was moving with every shot. He had already let one birdie chance slip at 2, but the South African was still inside the early conversation as the day unfolded.
The live updates from Aronimink showed a field in motion around him. Jason Day moved into a share of the lead one off the pace at minus three after birdies at 1 and 2. Justin Thomas climbed to minus two after birdies at 4 and 6, while Scottie Scheffler stayed at minus one after making par at the 6th. Chris Gotterup, meanwhile, joined Hideki Matsuyama in the clubhouse lead after a best-of-week 65.
Potgieter’s name carries its own small echo in this event. When he won the 2022 Amateur Championship, the writer noted that the surname was new. Two years later, it was back in the frame at one of golf’s biggest championships, and this time attached to a scoreline that briefly read 4-under through four holes at a major.
That is the nature of a live leaderboard in the second round: it rewards a quick burst, but it can change before the ink would even dry on a conventional report. Potgieter’s early position mattered because it arrived while others were still assembling their rounds and the clubhouse numbers were already setting a target. The snapshot did not promise a finish, only a strong opening and the possibility that he might stay in the mix if the rest of the round held.
What happens next is the part that will decide whether this becomes a good start or a headline. Potgieter still had most of the round ahead of him, and the leaderboard at Aronimink was already shifting behind him as Day, Thomas, Scheffler, Gotterup and Matsuyama shaped the chase.
