LOS CABOS, Mexico – Erik van Rooyen glanced at the oversized photo of him hanging in the back of the media center. There he is, clenching both fists and letting loose a guttural cry of celebration after holing a 20-foot eagle putt on the final hole to win the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship. Van Rooyen smiled and the memory of his heartwarming victory a year ago came rushing back.
“It’s pretty scary, man. Yeah, that’s a lot of emotion in a short space of time,” he said during his Tuesday press conference to kick off festivities at the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Fall event. “I think, you know, I pour my heart and soul into this sport like a lot of us do. Yeah, that win last year meant so much.”
Van Rooyen stormed home in 8-under 28 at the course Tiger Woods designed and erased a two-stroke deficit with three holes to play to win for the second time on the PGA Tour and do it for his terminally-ill friend. Moments later, van Rooyen hugged his caddie and former college teammate Alex Gaugert and both men broke into tears. Only a few days earlier, their fellow teammate at the University of Minnesota, Jon Trasamar, had informed them his cancer had returned and spread throughout his body. It was only a matter of time before his cancer fight would be over. Van Rooyen and Trasamar were college roommates for three years, teaming to win the 2014 Big 10 Championship, and Trasamar was van Rooyen’s best man in his wedding.
“He was like a brother to me,” said van Rooyen, who scribbled the initials “JT” on his ball all week.
After the win, van Rooyen canceled their flight to the next tournament in Bermuda and he and Gaugert flew home the next day and visited with their pal one last time. Trasamar died just days later on Nov. 11 from stage 4 melanoma at age 33.
Asked what he learned from his remarkable back-nine run to the winner’s circle, van Rooyen said, “I think I learned that I’m never quite out of it. I was four back going into the back nine. I know for a fact my mom and dad went to sleep when that happened in South Africa. They didn’t have faith. Yeah, I think regardless of how many I’m back, I think I’m always within a shot, so that gives me a ton of confidence.”
He added: “I’ve spoken about Jon a lot, but another thing I learned was even though this game means so much to me, it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. So there’s much bigger things in life and that’s a lesson I’ve carried with me these last 12 months.”
Van Rooyen and his friends have established a scholarship in his name at the University of Minnesota.
This marks the first time van Rooyen has been able to defend a tournament he has won as a professional. He noted he arrived back a better player than a year ago when he was struggling to maintain his Tour card. Van Rooyen entered the week at No. 125 in the point standings and on the cusp of losing his playing privileges as his two-year exemption from winning the Barracuda Championship was set to expire. Van Rooyen sits at No. 67 in the point standings this season and called it his most consistent season. His game has improved across the board since he started working with swing instructor Sean Foley last year, and he’s particularly proud of the strides he’s made with his short game, which always had been a weakness.
Can the stars align for a repeat victory? Following his win at the SAS Championship last month, PGA Tour Champions player Jerry Kelly paid tribute to Trasamar. (Kelly’s niece Ali is Trasamar’s widow.) Van Rooyen may face a stouter test, especially on Thursday when the wind is forecasted to gust to more than 20 miles per hour, but he’s confident he can win another for JT.
“It came down to putting,” van Rooyen said of his victory a year ago. “If we get a bit of wind, it might be a different story this week, but if not, I’m a great putter, so I think all in all the course sets up beautifully for me.”