Erik van Rooyen made an eagle on his 12th hole on Thursday on his way to a five-under-par 66 in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches on the Champion Course at PGA National Resort in Florida.
Van Rooyen started his round with two early birdies on the 10th and 11th, but his opening nine was a mixed bag of three bogeys and just one more birdie as he turned in level-par 36. Things got back on track quickly after the turn as he picked up five strokes in the first four holes with two birdies, the eagle, and one more birdie to complete his scoring.
He was in a share of ninth on a low-scoring day which saw American Chad Ramey and Korean SH Kim share the lead at seven-under. There were six players in a share of third on six-under.
Garrick Higgo also had a solid start, with his four-under-par 67 putting him three strokes off the lead and in a share of 16th. Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the other South African in the field, and he carded a one-under 70 and was in a share of 71st.
Van Rooyen’s eagle came with a 232-yard approach to the third, leaving him just 20 fee short of the hole. He made the putt on a day during which he needed just 28 putts throughout his round and led the field in strokes gained putting. He hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
