PGA Tour
'I hate it': Erik van Rooyen had an incredible rant on qualifying for this week's signature event
Orlando Ramirez
Erik van Rooyen was laughing quite hard when it said it. But sometimes the truth can be a funny thing.
Thanks to his final-round 63 on Sunday at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the 35-year-old locked up solo second, a rather impressive achievement this past week considering no one on the planet was beating Scottie Scheffler's 31-under total. Van Rooyen's 23-under score not only earned him more than $1 million, it got him into next week's signature event, the Truist Championship.
How did he feel about that accomplishment? The South African was not exactly spinning with glee.
"How honest do you want me to be?" van Rooyen said. "I hate it."
To be clear, van Rooyen was seemingly joking. He had even just called it a "fun problem" to have, as he was supposed to head back home to South Africa to relax this week but now will get to tee it up in a major money event at an elite venue, the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Yet he still had some things to say about the signature events themselves, launching into an incredible rant that had plenty of truths in it.
"I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them," he said. "The guys on the PGA Tour are so good. It's so deep. I get that you've got the Scotties of the world, the Rorys of the world, and people want to see them, it's entertaining.
"Like the PGA Championship coming up, for example, I think it's the strongest field in the game, similar to The Players. I love competing, so selfishly I want to compete against those guys.
"Again, really proud of playing my way into it."
Van Rooyen gained entry into the Truist via the Aon Swing 5, which rewards the strongest performers in the most recent three events with spots inside the limited fields. Van Rooyen had only played in one other signature event this year, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he tied for 40th.
This is not the first time van Rooyen has made his feelings known on where the PGA Tour seems to be headed.
Prior to last week, Van Rooyen had not yet qualified for the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, a tournament he'd clearly like to compete in. But his Byron Nelson finish jumped him into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the PGA of America typically invites the top 100 to compete in the PGA Championship, so it would appear he played his way in (he should know officially on May 5).