Erik Van Rooyen had a healthy lead as he stood on the 72nd tee at the Barracuda Championship, his 48-points had him in great shape.
Then golf stepped in and he hit a tee ball that went left of left, heading for the out-of-bounds area when the ball struck a tree and rebounded back into the fairway. From there, the South African with temporary Tour status, hit his approach to 10-feet, holed the birdie putt and won his first Tour event with a 50-point total in this opposite-field tournament that uses Modified Stableford scoring at the Tahoe Mountain Club.
“A massive break,” was how Van Rooyen described what transpired. “Worst shot I hit all week,” was how he put it. Worst shot, best break and he’s now a fully-exempt member for two years. “It’s everyone’s dream,” Van Rooyen said of gaining PGA Tour membership. He has played pretty much full-time on the European Tour where he won one event but was in contention often during his career.
Andrew Putnam looked like he might run away with the title early. He scored 11 points over the first four holes of his round with three birdies and an eagle. But he played the remaining 14 holes with a total of zero points and finished runnerup with 45 points.
Scott Piercy put up 11 points and finished solo third with 44 points.
Adam Schenk was the overnight leader with 38 points but had a rough final round — producing only five points.
Van Rooyen, who played college golf at the University of Minnesota, was outside the FedEx playoffs at 139th but the win will move him to 78th.
Scotland’s Grant Forrest Wins Hero Open:
Scotland’s Grant Forrest finished with a pair of birdies at the Hero Open to edge Brit James Morrison at the Hero Open.
Forrest picked up his first European Tour win with a closing 66 to edge Morrison, who ran up the leader-board with a nine-under par 63 at the St. Andrews Fairmont Links.
Morrison finished a hole ahead of Forrest and the 28-year-old Scot knew what he needed for the win. On 17th he hit his tee shot on the par three within four feet then at 18, he holed a 30-footer from the fringe for the dramatic win.
Spaniard Santiago Tarrio birdied two of his last three holes in a bogey free 68 to finish at 21 under, a shot clear of Hill and another Scotsman in David Law, who tied for fourth.
“There are so many emotions,” Forrest said afterward. “To do it in front of everyone who has come up to support me — the last year and a half has been a real challenge on and off the course so I’m just delighted. We’ve been through quite a lot as a family and to do it here, it’s what I’ve always dreamed of, to win on the European Tour. I think there’s a big party at the in-laws tonight.
“I saw the scoreboard and I knew what I needed to do,” Forrest recounted. “Our big thing all day was one shot at a time, let’s just keep hitting shots and I hit a great nine iron into 17 nice and close, and that really helps, and then two great shots into 18 – it was a great way to finish.”
