Erik van Rooyen closed with a five-birdie rush on Friday on his way to an eight-under-par 64 in the second round of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan.
Van Rooyen had already made three birdies through the first 11 holes in his second round in a bogey-free start, but he strung together five in a row from the 13th to the 17th as he moved to 11-under-par for the tournament through 36 holes.
That put him in a share of third, just two shots off the lead. At 13-under, Akshay Bhatia of the United States and Aaron Rai of England were two clear of Van Rooyen and Americans Taylor Montgomery, Troy Merritt and Cameron Young.
Van Rooyen hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation in an impressive display of ball striking to go with his longest drive of 342 yards as he climbed 42 places up the leaderboard in the second round.
Garrick Higgo missed the cut after his second round of three-over-par 75.
