Van Rooyen Birdies 18th Hole to Shoot 64 and Claim 1st European Tour Victory

GOTHENBERG, Sweden -- There has been a lot of Close But Not Quite for Erik Van Rooyen during his first two seasons as a regular member of the European Golf Tour. He's finished second three times, including two times during the 2018-19 season, and had several other top-10's. A week ago, he tied for fifth in the D+D Czech Masters.

But on Sunday, the 29-year-old former University of Minnesota star from South Africa broke through with a victory at the Scandinavian Invitation. Van Rooyen shot a 6-under-par 64 at Hills Golf & Sports Club on Saturday to take the lead, and it took another 64 on Sunday to overcome Matthew Fitzpatrick. Van Rooyen posted a 72-hole total of 261 (19 under). Fitzpatrick made five birdies and two bogeys in the last eight holes, including birdies at the 17th and 18th, and he shot 64, as well, to finish at 262.

Henrik Stenson produced the highlight of the day for the Swedish crowd when he made a hole in one with a 7-iron at the 183-yard sixth, and he was tied for the lead briefly. But he played the last 12 holes in even par. His final-round 66 gave him an aggregate of 266 and a tie for third with another South African, Dean Burmester, who also closed with a 66. 

The victory was worth 250,000 euros to Van Rooyen, who won the Minnesota State Amateur in 2012. He turned professional in 2013, shortly after completing his senior season with the Gophers. It wasn't until 2016, however, that he earned his first victory as a pro at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul, in the 2016 Tapemark Charity Pro-Am (where he made $6,000).  

With Sunday's check, he cracked the 1-million-euro barrier for the 2018-19 season and moved up from No. 19 to No. 9 on the European Tour money list, with 1,230,885 euros in 20 events.  

Fitzpatrick, a 24-year-old from England -- he looks more like 17 --  made 166,660 euros. He's No. 6 on the money list with 1,582,034 in 13 events.

Van Rooyen was one ahead of Fitzpatrick going into the final round, but Stenson's birdie at the 594-yard, par-5 third hole, combined with the ace at the sixth, propelled him into a tie for the lead. Fitzpatrick made it a three-way tie when he birdied the third. Van Rooyen, playing with Fitzpatrick, matched that birdie and reclaimed the lead. He made a long birdie putt at the 183-yard, par-3 fifth, two-putted the par-5 eighth (606 yards) and then matched another Fitzpatrick birdie at the 463-yard, par-4 ninth for an outgoing 32 (4 under) and a two-stroke advantage over Fitzpatrick.

By then, it was a two-horse race. 

Van Rooyen made another long putt for birdie at the par-3 10th (173 yards), but Fitzpatrick responded with a birdie of his own at the 11th (442, par 4). Then it was Fitzpatrick making a long birdie putt at the 180-yard, par-3 13th, but Van Rooyen made one on top of him.

Fitzpatrick went bogey-birdie-bogey on the next three holes, as Van Rooyen parred them all to increase the lead to three shots (minus 19 to minus 16). Van Rooyen made his only significant mistake of the day when he three-putted the 379-yard, par-4 17th for a bogey. Fitzpatrick birdied the hole to cut the deficit to one, and he reached the green at the 530-yard, par-5 18th in two, setting up a two-putt birdie. 

That left it up to Van Rooyen. He needed a birdie to win, and he got up and down from just short of the 18th green, making a 15-foot putt for the winning birdie.   

"It's too good," he said afterward. "It's hard to describe. "I'd been putting so well all day, and to hole that one to win my first one is pretty cool." 

Another benefit of the victory is that it moves Van Rooyen up from No. 87 to No. 61 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He's not eligible for the Masters yet (he played in each of golf's other three majors this year -- the PGA, U.S. Open and British Open), but he could be if he were to be in the top 50 in the OWGR at the end of the calendar year, or if he were in the top 50 in the rankings published the week before next year's Masters.
 

EUROPEAN TOUR

Scandinavian Invitation

At Hills Golf & Sports Club

Par 70, 6,965 yards

Gothenburg, Sweden

Final results 

1. Erik Van Rooyen, South Africa   250,000 euros   65-68-64-64--261

2. Matthew Fitzpatrick, England       166,660 euros   64-65-69-64--262

T3. Henrik Stenson, Sweden              84,450 euros  69-62-69-66--266

T3. Dean Burmester, South Africa      84,450 euros  66-72-62-66--266

T5. Jamie Donaldson Wales               46,440 euros  69-68-63-67--267

T5. Sihwan Kim, USA                         46,440 euros  66-68-68-65--267

T5. Alexander Levy, France               46,440 euros   65-71-66-67--267

T5. Wade Ormsby, Australia              46,440 euros   62-71-65-69--267

T5. Sebanstian Soderberg, Sweden 46,440  euros   69-69-68-63--267