Erik van Rooyen closed with a five-under-par 65 on Sunday to play his way inside the top 10 of the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Van Rooyen dropped a shot on the second hole in his final round, but an eagle on the 14th and birdies on seven, nine, 16 and 17 saw him into a share of eighth place – a good sign for him after a quiet year on the PGA Tour during which he was battling the effects of a neck injury back in 2022.
Van Rooyen moved to 14-under-par for the week, five shots behind the winner, Ludvig Aberg of Sweden. Aberg confirmed all the hype around him with a stunning four birdies in a row down the stretch on the back nine catapulting him past England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and, quite possibly, into the Ryder Cup European team. Aberg carded a six-under 64 to reach 19-under and win by two from countryman Alexander Bjork. Fitzpatrick shared third with Scot Connor Syme and locked down his automatic berth on the Ryder Cup team in the process.
In a share of eighth with Van Rooyen was Oliver Bekker, who closed with a three-under 67. It was a performance which will lift him closer to the top 110 on the Race to Dubai, a position which will secure his card for next season.
Also heading towards that mark was JC Ritchie, who had a closing 69 to finish in a share of 24th on 11-under. Justin Walters closed out his week with a six-under 64 to move to 10-under and a share of 32nd.
Wilco Nienaber and Zander Lombard shared 40th on eight-under, while defending champion Thriston Lawrence and Hennie du Plessis were in a share of 47th on six-under.
