Erik van Rooyen finishes birdie-birdie-eagle to clinch PGA Tour event in Mexico
Erik van Rooyen made six birdies and an eagle on the back nine during the final round of the World Wide Technology Championship to claim victory.
A determined and emotional Erik van Rooyen made a sensational eagle at the 72nd hole to win the PGA Tour's event in Mexico.
The South African came into this Fall Series event with his Tour card on the line and needing a big performance to keep his 2024 playing rights.
He revealed during the tournament his good buddy Jon Trasamar has been battling cancer and the prognosis isn't good.
All he wanted to do was 'get the job done' at the World Wide Technology Championship and fly back to Minnesota to be with his best friend.
The 33-year-old began the final round one back of co-leaders Camilo Villegas - chasing his first win since 2014 - and Tour veteran Matt Kuchar.
"Every shot out there today was for him," the tearful South African said in the immediate aftermath of victory, who marked his ball 'JT'.
He carded a final round of 9-under 63 at Tiger Woods' El Cardonal at Diamante to reach 27-under for the championship and win by two.
His flawless back nine of a remarkable 28 strokes included six birdies and eagle.
It looked as though Kuchar was going to cruise to victory after carding birdies at 10, 12 and 14 as Villegas struggled to gain any momentum.
Villegas made an incredible par at the par-5 15th after hitting his tee shot in the native area but couldn't capitalise on any scoring opportunities.
Van Rooyen applied pressure to Kuchar with birdies at 16 and 17 and found the green in two shots at the final hole.
Kuchar tugged his approach and missed the green left. By the time he lined up his birdie putt, the South African had already won.
This was his second Tour title. His first came at the 2021 Barracuda Championship. He also has one victory on the DP World Tour.
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Final leaderboard
E. v Rooyen -27
C. Villegas, M. Kuchar -25
J. Suh -24
A. Putnam, R. Palmer -22
C. Hadley, M. Hughes -21
Car. Young -20
L. Aberg -19
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