Watch: PGA Tour’s driving distance leader tops tee shot into lake at Bay Hill’s par 5 sixth

Aldrich Potgieter is not the first to do it, and he definitely won’t be the last.

The PGA Tour’s leader in driving distance had an unfortunate mishap early during his opening round Thursday at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 20-year-old South African arrived on the tee at Bay Hill Club’s famous par-5 sixth that curves left around a lake. It’s the same hole Bryson DeChambeau famously drove it near the green on in 2021 en route to victory.

While a shot like that wasn’t possibly Thursday because the tee shot was playing into a stiff wind, it still was shocking to see what Potgieter did with driver in hands. He took a rip with the big stick, and shortly thereafter, his ball plopped off the water before skipping to its demise a bit further away. A topped tee shot from the player who averages 326.9 yards off the tee, and it’s hard to watch.

Potgieter took keeping it low out of the wind to a new level. A stone-cold top, and a tough day got even worse.

He doubled the hole, and through 11 holes, Potgieter had more bogeys (6) than pars (4) during his first trip to Bay Hill.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Aldrich Potgieter tops tee shot into lake at Arnold Palmer 2025