South Africa
Erik van Rooyen
South African Van Rooyen returns for his third Nedbank Golf Challenge. Raised in Pretoria, Van Rooyen played rugby and cricket as well as golf at primary school. When the family moved to Oudtshoorn he started to focus more on golf and won the Southern Cape Open before taking up a golf scholarship at the University of Minnesota.
Following his first Sunshine Tour victory in the 2017 Eye of Africa PGA Championship, Van Rooyen progressed quickly through the ranks onto the DP World Tour and now the PGA Tour. His maiden victory on the DP World Tour came in the 2019 Scandinavian Invitation where he beat European Ryder Cup player Matt Fitzpatrick by one stroke.
Then he broke through on the PGA Tour with victory in the 2021 Barracuda Championship, and followed this up with a win in the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship. He achieved his best finish in a Major to date of tied eighth in the 2019 PGA Championship.
His trademark moustache and trendy on-course attire has won him many fans, as has his guitar- playing ability. Van Rooyen has represented South Africa at the 2018 World Cup of Golf and the 2024 Olympic Games.
