Alfred Dunhill Championship 2025 preview, picks & analysis

As you would expect, there is a strong South African presence in the field for this week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, which will be staged in Johannesburg rather than its traditional venue at Leopard Creek.

Dean Burmester returns home in search of the one title he is still desperate to claim. He has won every one of the current Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned events in South Africa other than this one.

He forms part of a strong home presence at Royal Johannesburg, which hosted the tournament from 2000 until 2004. He will be joined by defending champion Shaun Norris, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Ockie Strydom, who are all past winners. 

The star attraction for home fans will be the big-hitting Aldrich Potgieter, a recent winner on the PGA Tour. 

Potgieter was born in Pretoria on September 13, 2004. He started playing golf at an early age and moved to Perth, Western Australia at age eight with his family, where he attended Kingsway Christian College and was a part of their golf programme. He returned to South Africa aged 17 as Australia’s COVID policies hindered his ability to compete. 

In 2020, Potgieter won the South Australian Junior Masters by nine shots. He continued this form into 2021, where he won the Western Australian Amateur and finished second in the Australian Boys Amateur. In 2022, Potgieter won both the Nomads South African Juniors International and the Nomads SA Boys U19 Championship.

Potgieter won The Amateur Championship in June 2022 at the age of 17, becoming the second youngest winner in the history of the championship.

In February 2023, Potgieter won the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship, having previously finished tied-third at the event in 2022. Two months later, he won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, the top junior tournament in the United States. Potgieter shot 13-under to win by 10 strokes, which set a record for largest margin of victory at the tournament.

Due to his win at the 2022 Amateur Championship, Potgieter qualified for the 2023 Masters, where he shot rounds of 77-74 to miss the cut. He also qualified for the 2023 US Open and was the only South African to make the cut at Los Angeles Country Club. 

Potgieter turned professional in June 2023 following the US Open and earned medalist honors at the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School in December 2023, which guaranteed him eight starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in the 2024 season.

Potgieter won the Bahamas Classic in January 2024 to become the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history at 19 years, 133 days, breaking the record set by Jason Day in 2007 (19 years, 238 days). Two weeks later, he shot a 59 at the Astara Championship.  

Entering the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in October in 27th in the points list, Potgieter shot a 77 in the third round and fell outside the projected top 30 ranking required to earn a PGA Tour card. A final-round 69 was enough to move him to 29th, securing promotion to the PGA Tour in 2025. Potgieter led the Korn Ferry Tour in driving distance during the 2024 season, averaging 336.5 yards.

In December 2024, he led by three strokes after 54 holes at the Nedbank Golf Challenge but shot a final round of 75 to finish second.

Potgieter held the 54-hole lead at the Mexico Open in February 2025. He shot a final-round 71 to enter a playoff with Brian Campbell. On the second playoff hole, Campbell hit a tee shot that was veering out of bounds, but his ball hit a tree and bounced back into play. Campbell then birdied the hole to defeat Potgieter and claim the title. 

But he broke his duck with victory at the Rocket Classic and is one of the most exciting talents in the sport.

The field also includes Daniel Bennett, who made history earlier this year as a member of the South African team that won the Eisenhower Trophy.

Last year Norris won at Leopard Creek Country Club after a final-round 67 gave him a 13-under-par total of 275 and a one-shot victory. It was a second win on the DP World Tour for the 42-year-old, who started with an eagle at the second and overcame a double bogey on the seventh to take an early clubhouse lead.

After a long struggle with his game, Norris returned to form when he won Golf Nippon Series JT Cup in Japan two weeks earlier, but this victory meant more.

Norris said: "I'm very happy that it worked out this way. Words can't describe what this means to me. This last year has been very tough. It's been up and down and all over the place. But thanks to God, my family, my wife. We've kept it together. Winning two weeks ago in Japan and then winning this week - what a blessing."

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 by Branden Grace, in 2016 by Charl Schwartzel, in 2017 by Brandon Stone, in 2018 by David Lipsky, in 2019 by Pablo Larrazabal, in 2020 by Christiaan Bezuidenhout, in 2022 by Okie Strydom, in 2023 by Louis Oosthuizen and last year by Shaun Norris. There was no tournament in 2021.

The Course:

The East Championship Course, designed in 1939 by Robert Grimsdell was revamped in 2017. It is a classic parkland layout with beautifully manicured fairways and a lot of bunkers. It is a par 72 that measures 7,146 yards.

Form Guide:

Despite a strong European presence, recent history dictates that we will see a home winner, with Aldrich Potgieter aiming to cap a fine year by claiming this title. He is one of the biggest hitters in the game.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is 1.5m euros, with 3,000 Race to Dubai points up for grabs.

How to Watch:

Thursday, December 11, Friday, December 12, Sky Sports Golf, 10am, Saturday, December 13, Sunday, December 14, Sky Sports Golf 9.30am.

To Win:

Aldrich Potgieter. Never a dull moment

Each Way:

Thriston Lawrence. Loves playing on home soil

Each Way:

Dean Burmester. Looking to complete the set

Five to Follow:

Aldrich Potgieter. Hits the ball a mile

Thriston Lawrence. Putting a PGA Tour horror show behind him

Dean Burmester. Another big hitter

Louis Oosthuizen. Still has the sweetest of swings

Eugenio Chacarra. Delightful