Category: The Score

South African Erik van Rooyen claimed an emotional two-stroke victory at the World Wide Technology Championship at the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico for his second PGA TOUR career win. The triumph was bittersweet as he had received news earlier in the week that his best friend, Jon Trasamar, was terminally ill with cancer.

By Erik van Rooyen

To be honest, I don’t really know where to start. I was quite numb after that eagle putt went in on 18 and you imagine yourself being full of euphoria and being ecstatic, and I was just numb. I think it’s because of everything that’s happened with my friend, Jon Trasamar being so sick. I guess the moment hasn’t hit me yet.

I was calm during the final round because there is bigger stuff in life than golf. If you look at my ball, there’re music notes on there and “J.T.” written on it and it’s for my best friend. He’s got melanoma and he’s not going to make it. Every shot out there was for him. When you’re playing for something bigger than winning some trophy, it puts things into perspective. At the end of the day, whether I won here or lost, it did not really matter. When something motivates you like that, when you make a putt or miss a putt, who cares.

The emotions got to me after the second round. I’d shot 8-under, I get back to my room and I just break down in tears. It wasn’t that calm all the time but when I step onto the golf course, I’ve got a job to do and that’s what it comes down too at the end of the day, doing your job. Now we can celebrate and cry. Until the last putt, it was all focus and doing it for Jon. We love him so much and I’m still in disbelief what he’s going through. I wish I could take all his pain away. We’re flying up to Minnesota to see him and we’ll give him a high five.

When I left South Africa to the U.S. as a 19-year-old, it’s never easy as I grew up in a really small town. Leaving home wasn’t easy. Jon and his family lived about two hours away from Minneapolis, and I arrived in Minnesota in September of 2009 and they were there at the airport to meet me, to say hi, because he was going to be my roommate and teammate at University of Minnesota soon after. We obviously became best friends. He’s like a brother to me. We were roommates for three out of the four years I was in college. I still think he’s got one of the best short games I’ve ever seen and he pursued a career in golf up until recently. 

Jon was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma about a year ago. He was clean in April when he gave me a call and sent a picture of the scan and he was free of cancer. So obviously that was an incredible moment for all of us. Not soon after, it came back. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. On Tuesday, he sent us a text, saying he’s got six to 10 weeks left. They did a bunch of scans and cancer was in all his organs, everywhere. I don’t think he’s got that much time left. I hope he was watching the final round. We’ve texted and I’ve told him how much I love him. All I want is to go play nine holes with him somewhere. And extremely selfishly, that puts all of this into perspective. Is it fun to win golf tournaments? Yeah, it’s fun. I’ve been playing golf since I was 8 years old, extremely competitive and we want to win. But it doesn’t matter. When I kick the bucket one day, whenever that might be, this is not what I’m going to be thinking about. I’m going to be thinking about the people I love the most and Jon Trasamar is one of those people.

It’s been a trying year up until about two months ago when it came to my golf. For sure, it’s been the worst year of my career to date. I was struggling and made a coaching change and started working with Sean Foley the week of the U.S. Open and started turning things around.

Sean helps mainly with perspective. I wasn’t hitting it that bad when I started working with him, but I wasn’t getting great results. I was missing cuts. I think at one point, I missed 10 cuts in a row. So I think what makes Sean so great is, he’s got this awesome knowledge about the golf swing and the human body, and how the body functions and how to get the club square on the ball, but just perspective. When we talk, sometimes it’s an hour and we don’t even talk about golf. We talk about life and the person you want to be, how you want to be on the golf course, not being an idiot out there and being the person off the course and being the same person on the golf course. That’s really the conversations we’ve had.

It’s also quite special to win on a golf course designed by Tiger Woods. I saw Tiger earlier in the week and he’s obviously an absolute legend of the game and to play on a golf course that he’s designed and to win a PGA TOUR tournament that is somehow in a small part linked to him, it’s extremely special.

The Score is the Sunshine Tour’s Player Blog.

Ockie Strydom has had a life-changing three months in which he’s won twice on the DP World Tour, including the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.

Winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship was a big breakthrough for me. The Alfred Dunhill Championship was one that I always wanted to win. To be able to win this title at a course like Leopard Creek showed me that I do have the game to win again. And that made the victory in the Singapore Classic that much easier for me.

I had 19 runner-up finishes before my victory at Leopard Creek. It was always on my mind – if I would ever win on the DP World Tour. Especially after so many second places. I just focused on what I could control. Technically, my coach Doug Wood and I worked on my clubface in the week of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and to square it up as it was closed at the top of my swing. And then the physio helped me get through the week physically. My back was under big pressure and I was in quite a bit of pain that week.

The chip on the 18^th in Singapore was probably one of the best chips I have ever played under pressure. I was really calm throughout the final round. I had two options on that chip and I decided to go for the bump and run. For safety reasons really. And it worked out perfectly.

I didn’t ever think my second DP World Tour victory would come so quickly. To be honest I didn’t even think I would ever win the Alfred Dunhill Championship. But in Singapore I just went out and enjoyed myself, and I’m very grateful it led to a second title for me so soon.

These two victories have done so much for me. It’s given me the self-belief to know I belong out here and that I can compete against the top players in the world.

The Score is the Sunshine Tour’s Player Blog.

Keith Horne reflects on his regular career on the Sunshine Tour, and a new phase in his life after winning the Legends Tour Qualifying School and earning his card there.

I’m more relieved than anything else after winning the Legends Tour Qualifying School. I’ve had lots of messages from my family and friends. It’s a big relief to get it done. I’ve had a lot of support and I’m just glad I didn’t let anybody down. I really want to thank everybody for their support.

Turning 50 kind of just sneaks up on you. You get so busy playing, and I’ve been so busy traveling around the world. So many people slow down when they’re in their early 40s, and I’ve been fortunate to keep playing around the world. So I wouldn’t even have blinked at turning 50. I would’ve kept going and there wouldn’t have been a change of gear. I suppose only Covid-19 forced me to sit back and reflect a bit on it. Otherwise, it’s not something I would’ve even considered.

I was pretty bad when I turned pro. I was working as Hugh Baiocchi’s apprenctice at Prince’s Grant because I had no intention of turning pro. I believed I wasn’t good enough. So I’d play a few Sunshine Tour events for fun. But it was only in 1997 that for some reason I decided to turn pro fulltime. I was 27 then. That’s why when I hit 35, I felt like I was only beginning to learn my craft while other pros my age maybe felt tired with their careers. I was only just getting excited and feeling properly competitive.

I’m pretty hard on myself, and a fear of failure was my biggest drive. I don’t like to fail. I work from the bottom up. It’s good in one sense, and bad in another. I’m petrified of failing so I’ve pushed myself every day. I played at Royal Durban and they had Warren Abery, Bradley Davison, Rory and Gary Sabbitini, and I was number five in my club side. I wasn’t a superstar. I had zero success as an amateur. But I loved golf. So looking back at how I started and to think I’m still here playing the game for a living, then I’d like to think it’s been a pretty good career.

It took me a long time to feel competitive worldwide. It was a very hard grind after that first win. I had no sponsor backing. I had qualified as a labour lawyer, but I had no desire to go that route. Somehow I managed to always find the extra gear just to keep going. And then came what was clearly a defining moment in my career. It turned my whole career around. It was the 2004 dunhill championship at Houghton Golf Club. I was completely broke. My wife, Karen, is lying in bed next to me pregnant with our first child. I was having anxiety attacks and playing the worst golf ever. Then on the Monday of the dunhill championship, Karen asked me if I would go and see a hypnotist. I thought it was a crazy idea, but I was so desperate I would’ve gone to see a witchdoctor if I thought it would help. So I went to see him in Bedfordview on the Wednesday before the tournament. All he did was teach me to relax and meditate and visualise good shots. That’s one thing I’m very good at –  visualisation. So I related to it immediately. I shot 73 in the first round, but I felt great. I felt like a different human being and felt more in control of my game and myself. The next day I shot 67 and made the cut by one shot. I felt like a millionaire. Then on the Saturday I shot 63 and was leading early in the day before the rest of the field went out. And on the last day I got it going a bit but then got a bit nervous and shot 71. But I finished tied 14^th and made close to R100 000. And that was it. I finished tied 10^th in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, third in the Nashua Masters and third in the Tour Championship after that. And I was on my way. It was a huge turning point for me. If it didn’t turn out like that, I would’ve given up that year for sure. Once I got the bit between my teeth I really enjoyed it. I achieved things for me that I never thought possible.

I still feel like I haven’t reached my potential. I still feel like I have so much to achieve. I try and take time off, but I can’t. I love to play. I’ll play on my own if I have to. I enjoy competing and playing. A few years ago I played with Ernie (Els) in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Ernie was one of my idols. But the biggest thing that struck me when we played together is how much he enjoyed playing golf. He loves playing tournament golf. That was a revelation for me. I think I’m the same in my pure enjoyment of just playing this game. – Michael Vlismas

The Score is the Sunshine Tour’s Player Blog.

Tristen Strydom reflects on his past Sunshine Tour season and that breakthrough victory in the Tour Championship.

It was the right time and place to make my breakthrough in last season’s Tour Championship. It’s obviously very satisfying in a way because for a long time I haven’t been my normal self in terms of being confident on the golf course and not worried about my game. I felt it should just come to me, but it’s been an uphill road since I joined the Tour. That first year on Tour in 2017, I failed miserably. I was very low after that. I was really disappointed. My caddie just kept saying to me to be patient because I was playing well, and it will come.

After yet another runner-up finish in 2021 I took on Grant Veenstra as my coach. It was really tough on me those first few months because I’ve never been in that kind of structured setup, and I had to show a lot of discipline to myself and make sacrifices. I don’t mean to sound arrogant when I say this, but golf has always been the easy part for me. I’ve played golf since I was a year and four months old. It really does come naturally to me. But when I turned pro, I went from knowing exactly what I did with a golf ball to being confused. There is not that sense of urgency in amateur golf. You’re still a youngster and under your parents’ roof. Then you turn pro and suddenly it’s welcome to the big boys. It took me a while to find my feet. There wasn’t anybody who showed me the ropes. But I’m also a bit different like that. I don’t like asking questions. I like doing my own thing because I feel that when you figure it out yourself, there’s that sense that you who did it. This is a mental game, and that’s what has clicked for me. You don’t have to play perfect golf to contend and win golf tournaments. 

I’m turning into a better professional in the sense of being more dedicated to what I’m doing. I’m more patient in my build-up and more strict in my course management. I never really understood the importance of that before. Discipline seems like a harsh word, but I found the real power in doing the same thing for the past nine months every day and trusting that it’s good enough to win golf tournaments. Last season I took the time to work really hard on my mental game. That’s a big key out here on Tour when you’re trying to beat seriously good golfers. We can all do everything with the golf ball out here. What makes the difference is that you need to be mentally tough out here.

I have some great opportunities now. I’m going to play the Challenge Tour and hopefully get my DP World Tour card at the end of this season. You know, in golf you always compare yourself to other guys. I compare myself to a lot of my peers who are in the top 100 in the world, playing in Majors and winning on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. For me there was a sense of, ‘what am I missing to get to that level?’. I need motivation like that. I want to be playing on the main tours. I want to be in the top 100 in the world. I want to try and win Majors.

Photo Credit: Sunshine Tour

The Score is the Sunshine Tour’s Player Blog.

Dylan Naidoo reflects on the journey to improvement he’s been on, and the plans he has for his career in 2022. 

I feel like I am playing well enough to let the performance take care of itself. With the new season starting on the Sunshine Tour, I had planned to get some good tournament golf in and get myself as high up as possible on the Luno Order of Merit before heading off to the Korn Ferry Tour later this year.

It’s such a tough learning experience over there, especially the KornFerry Tour. It’s elite golf over there. The American system is extremely cut throat. I played with two golfers in the final stage of the KornFerry Q School who both had their PGA Tour cards the year before. It’s not easy, but that’s pro golf. If it was easy everybody would be playing. It opened my eyes to the improvements I need to make in my game, and how the level of talent out there is extremely high and the margins are so fine.

I went to a couple of qualifying schools to give myself the opportunity to test myself somewhere other than on the Sunshine Tour. I wanted to answer the question: Have I improved? Have I got to the point where I can find membership on a different tour. That was the first step in realising my game is good and, while there is still some improvement I’m working on, it is able to translate onto a world stage.

It was my dad who first got me into golf. He was a sportsman and he played tennis, cricket and then later golf. I naturally graduated to those sports as well. I was a kid who was always determined and driven to be good, so I’d want to hit cricket balls for hours and play tennis for hours. But in those sports you need somebody else to help you out, whereas with golf I could go to the range and be there all day on my own.

The first real realisation I had that I could be quite good at golf was when I won the SA Boys Under-17 title. I’d played junior events and for Central Gauteng, and you think you’re good. But then one day my dad said I need to put everything I have into this game. My dad has these moments when he gives me these hard truths. At the time I’m always like, ‘Yeah yeah’. But then I realised he’s right. I needed to put more work into my golf. I realised with that SA Boys title that if I do put in the work I’ll get the reward. Basically, it was a realisation that if I work hard, I have enough talent to make a career out of this.

I’m really enjoying the journey I’m on now. I’ve chatted with somebody like Brandon Stone a lot and about this journey and what’s pushed him and driven him. And another good friend of mine, Viktor Hovland, has also had a great influence. We played a number of junior events together and his rise has been so exponential. You just see it at that age, and then you see them become multiple winners. Viktor has been a real case study for me with the golf swing. He’s somebody I’ve watched and tried to emulate.

I love visiting museums and big cities. A science or natural history museum. And I’ve now taken to visiting art museums as well. I’ve developed quite a love for modern art. I just think it’s such an impactful medium. It’s just incredible to see what human ingenuity can result in. I’ve been to The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) and that’s now my gold standard.

Photo Credit: Sunshine Tour