Golf

South African Erik van Rooyen dedicates landmark win to dying friend

South African golfer Erik van Rooyen holed a 16-foot eagle putt on the par-5 closing gap on the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante on Sunday to win the World Wide Technology Championship.

The event marks the primary time {that a} course designed by the 15-time Major winner has been used on the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour win devoted to dying friend

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Van Rooyen got here residence sizzling enjoying the again 9 in 8-under 28 and shot a final-round 9-under 63 for a two-shot win.

On the PGA TOUR, Van Rooyen has now triumphed twice. In 2021, the 33-year-old South African ended up being victorious within the Barracuda Championship, with the altered Stableford scoring methodology.

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Van Rooyen’s ultimate spherical enjoying associate Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas completed in a tie for second.

Both Kuchar and Villegas scored 66, with Kuchar, who’s 45 years previous, birdieing the final 4 holes. After van Rooyen and Villegas blasted fairway-wood second pictures shut to one another on the 18th gap, tying for the lead, Kuchar hit his strategy left of the inexperienced and chipped 20 ft previous the pin.

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Erik van Rooyen on who the win was for

Van Rooyen devoted his win to shut friend Jon Trasamar, who performed collegiate golf alongside van Rooyen and his caddie Alex Gaugert on the University of Minnesota.

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Trasamar has been recognized with terminal most cancers and an emotional Van Rooyen made to clear that this win was for him.

“Every shot out there today was for him,” van Rooyen said.

The win meant quite a bit to Van Rooyen because it secures his place on the PGA Tour for 2024 thanks to a giant bump in Fed-Ex Cup factors.

However, he stated within the wake of the win that titles and golf don’t matter almost as a lot because the individuals in his life.

“When I kick the bucket one day, whenever that might be, this is not what I’m going to be thinking about,” van Rooyen stated. “I’m going to be thinking about the people that I love the most, and Jon Trasamar is one of those people.”


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