Erik van Rooyen took a crucial step forward on his golfing journey when he won his maiden PGA Tour title, the Barracuda Championship in California, writes BRENDAN BARRATT in Compleat Golfer magazine.
The accent – something of a hybrid between Afrikaans and American – reveals that Erik van Rooyen is no stranger to the US. Now a resident of Florida, the likeable 31-year-old South African also spent four years studying a degree in business marketing at the University of Minnesota. It’s here where he met his wife Rose and it’s here where he has now ticked off another great achievement on his golfing journey – a PGA Tour victory.
Although the Van Rooyens have recently welcomed baby daughter Valerie into their lives, Erik barely had the time to master the techniques of nappy changing before he jetted off to play his next tournament, The Open Championship. Since then, it’s been tournament after tournament as he has fought to keep his PGA Tour card for next season.
Suddenly, with his win at the Barracuda Championship in August, Van Rooyen need not worry about his playing privileges any more – although the busy schedule continues.
‘We had a baby a month ago,’ he said after signing for a tournament-record 50 points to claim a maiden Tour title. ‘I’ve been gone for three out of the four weeks, so this win goes out to my wife and daughter.’
Hard work, plenty of travel and busy schedules have been an integral part of Van Rooyen’s long road to becoming a PGA Tour winner.
‘My career has been all about progression,’ he explains to Compleat Golfer. ‘It’s been about taking one step after another.
‘When I graduated college I wasn’t ready to play on the PGA Tour, in terms of my game and my maturity. That’s why I went home to South Africa, to play on the Sunshine Tour and to learn what it means to be a Tour player.’
A win at the 2017 Eye of Africa PGA Championship was the kick-start Van Rooyen needed and he then earned his stripes on the European Challenge Tour, winning the Hainan Open, in China, later that year.
Having played his way on to the European Tour, it was no surprise to see the Cape Town-born golfer picking up more silverware – this time at the Scandinavian Invitation, beating Matthew Fitzpatrick by one stroke.
Step by step, Van Rooyen was moving through the golfing ranks, proving himself at every level.
By 2019, he had reached the dizzying heights of the top 50 in the World Ranking and he backed up his position with some fine finishes, including a tie for eighth at the 2019 PGA Championship and a tie for third at the WGC-Workday Championship.
‘Every level I’ve played at I’ve viewed as a learning experience and a springboard to get me to the next level,’ he says. ‘Yes, it means a lot of grinding, but we aren’t all Rory McIlroy or Collin Morikawa and my path has been different to theirs. That’s totally fine for me. I don’t compare myself to other players and I’m grateful for every experience. It has been a fantastic journey.’
The journey has taken a twist with his latest victory – one that has been a long time coming, as a poor run of form saw him slip from 51st in the world at the end of 2020 to outside the top 100.
Van Rooyen started the week ranked 139th in the FedExCup and was in danger of missing the playoffs completely. Now, up to 79th, he has set his sights on a strong finish to the PGA Tour season.
‘It’s been such a tough year,’ he says. ‘I’ve had injuries to my neck and my back and I haven’t been playing well. There have been glimpses of it the past six months. But I haven’t been able to put four good rounds together
‘I said to myself, “I just need eight solid rounds of golf,”’ says Van Rooyen. ‘And it turns out I only needed four. I’m really proud of myself for getting the job done under the gun. I’m going to take so much confidence from this.’
Despite the setbacks, Van Rooyen remained positive and never lost the belief in his abilities. The win, therefore, was less of a surprise and more vindication for all the hard work behind the scenes.
‘You have to expect to win,’ he says. ‘I have never teed it up without the belief that I can win that week, regardless of my previous results or form.
‘What people don’t see are all the little positives you take from every round. They just see a tie for 40th or a missed cut, or they look back at my results over the past 18 months, and they think, “There’s no way this guy can win this week.” But I proved them all wrong.
‘What they haven’t seen is the great drive I hit on a hole that sets up badly for me or making an eight-footer on the last to save par. It’s cliched but you take the small victories and they can lead to better things.
‘If you hang on to the disappointments, this game will beat you up. Like, for me, missing the cut at The Open Championship still stings today.’
Fortunately, Van Rooyen has got plenty of good memories to keep him going and his victory at the Barracuda Championship was built around his typical aggressive play, mixed with a touch of good fortune.
Having started the day on 34 points, four behind American Adam Schenk, in the modified Stableford scoring system, he knew he needed to go low in the final round.
‘At the start of the round I thought 50 points would be enough to get the win,’ he says. ‘But after five holes I saw that Andrew Putnam had already got to 45 and I wondered if he would kick on and make a massive number.’
A mid-round spurt saw Van Rooyen thrust himself right into contention. On the short par-four 8th hole, he hit his tee shot to five feet and boxed the eagle putt. He followed that up with a birdie on the 9th.
‘I didn’t actually look at any of the leaderboards again until the 15th hole, where I saw I was tied for the lead,’ he says. ‘So I knew what I had to do. The birdie on the 16th was crucial, but making birdie on the last hole was very sweet.’
Van Rooyen very nearly chucked the tournament away. On the final hole, and needing only a bogey to secure the title, he hooked his tee shot into the deep rough, heading towards out of bounds.
The ball, however, bounced off the trees and into the middle of the fairway.
‘I got a very lucky break on 18,’ he laughs. ‘My tee shot was the worst shot I had hit all week and it was going straight into the middle of the bush.
‘It was a massive break. But when it’s your day it’s your day. I got a really great bounce and sometimes you need a little bit of luck when you’re trying to win the tournament and today was my day.’
Suddenly the landscape has shifted for Van Rooyen. From trying to keep his Tour card, he’s now able to aim a little higher, even if it means he will be on the road and away from his family for a little bit longer.
‘Right now I’m just going to ride the momentum and see how high I can finish in the FedExCup,’ he says. ‘I’d love to make the Tour Championship, and all it will take is a couple more good weeks.’
Further down the road, Van Rooyen is intrigued by the chance to play at The Presidents Cup next year. Having already represented South Africa at the 2018 World Cup, this would be another progression on a career path that is once again trending in the right direction.
‘It has been in the back of my mind since Quail Hollow this year, when Trevor Immelman got us together for a team meeting,’ he says. ‘Qualification started at The Open, so I’m definitely on the right track and I’m backing myself to make that team.’
He’s also expecting another climb up the World Ranking, having reached a career high of 40th in February last year.
‘If I’m playing well, my world ranking will take care of itself,’ he says. ‘I feel like I am the calibre of player who should be in the top 50 in the world and I want to get back to that level, where you get into all the events, all the Majors.’
While that may mean a little more time on the road, it will also allow Van Rooyen some time off to spend with his wife and his baby daughter – and get back to changing those nappies.
– This article first appeared in the September 2021 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine. The October 2021 issue is on sale now.
