He was the first ever golfer to average over 300 yards off the tee and the longest hitter on the PGA Tour for 11 seasons

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PGA Tour rookie Aldrich Potgieter hit the headlines at the Mexico Open after producing some seriously big hits with his driver.

Potgieter is the longest player on the PGA Tour in 2025 and is averaging two yards further than Rory McIlroy.

During the second round of the Mexico Open, the 20-year-old South African produced two huge blows to reach the 661-yard par-five 12th hole, with his second being a 325-yard driver off the fairway; it was impressive stuff.

Potgieter’s emergence as one of the game’s biggest hitters continues a trend of the average PGA Tour driving distance increasing year on year. Interestingly, John Daly was the man to beat when it came to driving distance in 1991.

John Daly: First player to average 300 yards on the PGA Tour

Before the likes of Bryson DeChambeau launched the ball well over 350 yards, Daly was the trailblazer for distance on the PGA Tour and was the first golfer to average over 300 yards.

According to data from My Golf Spy, Daly first became the Tour’s longest player in 1991 when he averaged 288.9 yards off the tee. The same year, Daly won the PGA Championship. He also topped the charts in 1992 and 1993 before Davis Love III became the Tour’s biggest driver in 1994.

From 1994 until 2002, the Wild Thing was by far the best when it came to driving distance. He first broke the 300-yard threshold in 1999, when he averaged 305 yards throughout the season. Daly famously won the Open Championship at St Andrews in 1995.

Hank Kuehne became the PGA Tour’s gold standard in 2003, averaging 321 yards off the tee.

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Three more big hitters in PGA Tour history

After Daly’s dominance between 1995 and 2002, Bubba Watson became the eye-catching player to watch off the tee. Watson averaged over 315 yards between 2006 and 2008 and was once again the PGA Tour’s longest player in 2012 and 2014.

DeChambeau set new records between 2020 and 2021 after he became the first player to average over 320 yards on the PGA Tour. The American, however, isn’t statistically the longest player in Tour history.

That crown goes to McIlroy, who averaged 326.3 yards off the tee in 2023. The Northern Irishman has been, statistically, the PGA Tour’s longest player three times. Cameron Champ was the longest player on the PGA Tour last season after averaging 323 yards.

If Potgieter is to top the charts come the end of September, the South African will have to increase his already impressive average.