Erik Van Rooyen was happy with his first round performance at the BMW SA Open which left him just two shots off the pace, writes WADE PRETORIUS at Glendower.
‘I was striking it really well and putted okay, but ja, I didn’t make a lot of them,’ Van Rooyen said after his opening 67.
The Joburg Open runner-up was pleased with his allround performance finding 16 greens in regulation with 31 putts.
‘But anytime you hit it that well and give yourself that many chances, you are going to do well.’
After perfect drives on 10 and 11 that both resulted in pars from indifferent approaches, Van Rooyen was pleased with how his patience paid off.
‘My caddie said “You can’t win it on Thursday, so just keep going” and that was really good advice for me. And then the putts started to drop.
‘I’ve been working extremely hard on my putting and it’s going in the right direction so I’m happy to keep doing what I’m doing.’
After a strong finish to 2017 which included the Joburg Open performance as well as graduating from the Challenge Tour, Van Rooyen was happy with how his first bout of 2018 went.
‘I was very keen to carry on after Joburg and obviously the break wasn’t at a great time for me but here we are, at the SA Open and I’m pumped up.’
The co-sanctioned event, which has brought stars like Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel with it, is an ideal place to play well and rubberstamp that tag of one of the best next players in SA.
‘It’s nice to be talked about like that. But I don’t really need extra motivation to play well here. No real added pressure really because I’m focused on my game and I will be sticking to it.’
More of the same is required on Friday for Van Rooyen as he looks to continue his meteoric rise in the local game.
