Sharma Wins Joburg Open; Van Rooyen Takes 2nd, Gains Spot in The Open

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Shubhankar Sharma didn't decide to play in the Joburg Open until a week before the tournament began. It proved to be a good decision, because on Monday, he completed a final-round, 3-under-par 69 on the Firethorn Course at Randpark Golf Club and claimed a three-stroke victory over former Minnesota State Amateur champion Erik Van Rooyen.

There were 240 players in the field to begin the tournament, and both the Firethorn (par 72) and Bushwillow (par 71) courses were used. Sharma finished 72 holes with a total of 264 (23 under).

The victory was worth 161,790 euros to the 21-year-old from India, which moved him up to No. 2 on the 2017-18 European Tour money list. He has made 226,774 euros in three events.

Sharma started what was scheduled to be the final day of the tournament on Sunday with a five-stroke lead. But heavy rain forced tournament officials to suspend the fourth round while the last group was on the eighth green. 

At that point, Sharma was 2 under for the round. Van Rooyen was on the ninth green, 4 feet from the hole, putting for birdie, and he was already 4 under, having birdied the third, fourth and fifth holes, and the seventh. 

Van Rooyen, playing in his home town, had begun the final round six strokes behind Sharma. When play was resumed Monday morning, he made the birdie putt at No. 9 to cut the deficit to three. Sharma two-putted the eighth green for a par, and then he, too, birdied the ninth. After that, he proceeded to par every hole on the back nine.

That was good enough.

The long-hitting Van Rooyen added one more birdie to his scorecard, at the par-5 12th hole, which trimmed Sharma's lead to three once again. But he failed to birdie the other par-5 on the back side, the 15th and ended up parring the last six holes for a 66 -- and an aggregate of 267.

He was three strokes clear of the two players who tied for third -- Shaun Norris of South Africa and Tapio Pulkkanen.

Van Rooyen is from South Africa, but he went to college at the University of Minnesota and was the No. 1 player for the Gophers by the time he was a senior. He won the State Amateur at Hastings Country Club (now Dakota Pines) in 2012 but didn't defend the title, turning pro in the spring of 2013 instead, following the conclusion of his senior season. 

Since then, he has played mostly on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. The Sunshine Tour co-sponsors several tournaments with the European Tour each year, and that was how Van Rooyen got into European Tour events in the past. This year, he has full status on the European Tour as a result of finishing No. 3 on the 2017 European Challenge Tour. He played in 21 events Challenge Tour events this year, won one of them and made 160,876 euros.

Van Rooyen did make one return trip to Minnesota, in 2016. He played well when he was here, winning the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am and finishing thrid in the State Open. 

His second-place finish in the Joburg Open was worth 112,283 euros. This was the second event he's played in during the 2017-18 European Tour season, and although he missed the cut in the first, the 27-year-old now ranks No. 10 on the European money list. And because Joburg was a co-sanctioned event, his earnings also count toward the Sunshine Tour money list, where he ranks No. 2 with 1,841,800 South African rands (the rand is worth 0.074 U.S. dollars).   

In addition to the money he made, Van Rooyen also earned a place in the 2018 British Open. So did Sharma, and the third spot available went to Norris, because he has a higher World Ranking than his fellow third-place finisher, Pulkkanen. 


MEN'S PROFESSIONAL GOLF

EUROPEAN GOLF TOUR (IN CONJUNCTION WITH SUNSHINE TOUR)

Joburg Open

At Randpark Golf Club

Firethorn Coure (par 72)

Bushwillow Course (par 71)

Johannesburg, South Africa

Final results (prize money is shown in euros, which were worth $1.18 as of 12/11/17)

1. Shubhankar Sharma, India           161,790 euros       69-61-65-69--264

2. Erik Van Rooyen, South Africa  112,283 euros      64-67-70-66--267

T3. Shaun Norris, South Africa           62,930 euros      69-68-68-65--270

T3. T. Pulkkanen, Finland                   62,930 euros      65-64-73-68--270