Max Greyserman failed to win the Rocket Classic in a playoff showdown after a bizarre golf shoe spike mishap before the playoffs, leading to Aldrich Potgieter making PGA Tour history
Max Greyserman lost a spike on his golf shoes before losing the Rocket Classic
Max Greyserman lost the Rocket Classic during a playoff showdown after a malfunction with his Skechers Men’s Go Golf Blade GF Slip-Ins golf shoes at the worst possible time. It came after a rival player had a meltdown and smashed his club earlier in the tournament before the PGA Tour event culminated in a dramatic finish. ,
The No. 48-ranked American star was seconds away from walking out of the locker room and into his most critical professional career moment when a spike on his right golf shoe got caught in the door frame just before the playoff began. It forced him to rip off the spike completely, heading into a three-person playoff against Chris Kirk and Aldrich Potgieter.
After Collin Morikawa’s mallet putting technique and glove-switching tactics failed to land him a win, Greyserman, Kirk, and Potgieter all carded a 266 through four rounds at the Detroit Golf Club, locking in for a rare three-man playoff with $1.73 million of a $9.6 million purse on the line. Greyserman was forced to deal with the adversity of his footwear during a playoff that stretched over four holes, including 18, 15, 16, and 14.
Despite three prior clean shots, Potgieter and Greyserman stayed deadlocked, but Kirk misread a putt on the first playoff hole. He misjudged the break on his putt and was eliminated. “Disappointed right now, but I played great today,” Kirk said. “It’s a shame that first playoff hole, I hit three perfect shots and misread that hole. It’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Greyserman stayed alive to join Potgieter on the third playoff hole, but momentum never fully returned. Whether it was the spike or feeling the pressure of chasing his first PGA Tour win, the 30-year-old couldn’t close the deal.
“Not good. Didn’t get the job done,” he said bluntly afterward. “Putts just didn’t drop. I hit a lot. This one is gonna sting a little bit, but I’ll get back to work in two weeks.” As Greyserman weighed on the loss, Potgieter made history as the youngest South African to ever win a PGA Tour event at 20 years old and jumped to 36th in the FedEx Cup standings.
A spike on Max Greyserman's shoe got caught in a door frame when leaving the locker room.
He's looking to either replace the spike or replace his shoes before the playoff begins 👀 pic.twitter.com/8vVrzly5dH
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) June 29, 2025
Potgieter spoke with CBS Sports golf journalist Amanda Balionis after 77 holes to discuss his win, highlighting the commitment and sacrifices his immigrant family made to help him reach the biggest stages in golf. He also recalled the difficulty of hitting putts on the course before ultimately making the shot to seal his victory.
“We had to give up a lot moving to Australia (and) back. Emigrating is definitely not the easiest thing, and coming alone at the start of my career to the States and giving it a grind, having my dad here has helped,” he said with his father on the course. “Big thanks to my family, friends, coaches, and everyone involved to get me to this point.”