‘I hate it!’ Star lays down brutal assessment of PGA Tour’s new format
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Erik van Rooyen has mixed feelings about earning a spot in this week’s Signature Event at the Truist Championship…
Spare a thought for Erik van Rooyen.
The South African shot rounds of 66, 67, 65 and 63 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and still lost by eight to record-equaling champion Scottie Scheffler.
But the runner-up finish at 23-under-par does get the South African into this week’s Signature Event at the Truist Championship – which will take place at Philadelphia Cricket Club this year as Quail Hollow takes on major duties – through the PGA Tour’s Aon Swing 5 scheme.
“I didn’t know,” he admitted after his round. “My mom and dad are in from South Africa, so we were going to go home and relax a bit.
“That’s a fun problem to have. Looking forward to playing golf there. I love the golf in that part of the world. I don’t know much about the golf course yet, but it’s a good problem to have.”
Like many outside the top 50 or so in the world, though, Van Rooyen is not a fan of the limited-field, no-cut, mega-bucks format which came about as a response to the PGA Tour losing a number of players to LIV Golf.
“How honest do you want me to be? I hate it!” he said with a smile.
Then, more seriously: “I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them. 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, it’s the strongest field in the game, similar to The Players. I love competing, so selfishly I want to compete against those guys.”
It’s not the first time Van Rooyen has spoken out against the PGA Tour’s new closed-shop nature. Last year, after Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy had said they want smaller fields on the PGA Tour, he told Golf Channel: “I saw Wyndham’s comment. Two years ago, Wyndham was in the 100-125 spot. He would’ve lost his card, and now he’s a major winner, and all of a sudden…”
He continued: “And Rory, I know he said he wants the Tour to be more cutthroat. Well, this is the most cutthroat sport there is. You miss the cut, you’re gone, bro. You’re not making money.
“The NBA has over 300 guys playing. We have 144 guys playing. That’s not a lot, and more than half of them aren’t making money.
“I think this idea that we’re worth what Premier League soccer players are worth is completely mind-blowing.
“I’m sorry, Jon Rahm, you’re a fantastic player, but you’re not worth the zeroes [LIV Golf] gave you, you’re not worth more than what Cristiano Ronaldo is making. I’m sorry, we don’t have the following. We’re not the NBA, we’re not the NFL. I get there are a handful of really famous and really good golfers, how many of them have won tournaments so far this year?”
Also joining the 35-year-old at Philly Cricket as part of the Aon Swing 5 will be joined by Garrick Higgo, Michael Thorbjornsen, Sam Stevens and Rasmus Hojgaard – who birdied the 72nd hole at Craig Ranch on Sunday to knock his twin brother, Nicolai, out of the Truist.
To be a fly on the wall at dinner that night…
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Erik van Rooyen finished 23-under-par at the CJ Cup and still lost by eight to Scottie Scheffler.
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Erik van Rooyen has mixed feelings about qualifying for the PGA Tour Signature Event.
