"Every shot out there today was for him" - Erik van Rooyen credits his WWT Championship win to his best friend battling cancer

Erik van Rooyen won the 2023 World Wide Technology after registering a two-stroke victory over Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas on Sunday, November 5, in Los Cabos.

Rooyen was excited and happy after clinching the second PGA Tour title of his career. He dedicated the victory to his best friend, Jon Trasamar, who has been battling cancer.

The South African golfer got emotional while talking about his incredible victory in his interview with the media. He was in tears speaking about his former University of Minnesota teammate.

“There’s bigger stuff in life than golf," Erik van Rooyen said. "If you look at my ball … it has the initials ‘JT’ and it’s for Jon Trasamar, our best friend. He’s got melanoma, and he’s not going to make it.

"And every shot out there was for him. And when you’re playing for something bigger than some silly trophy it puts things in perspective, and at the end of the day whether I won here or whether I lost here, it really did not matter. Yeah, when something motivates you like that whether you make a putt or miss a putt, who cares?"

Having turned pro in 2013, Erik van Rooyen won five professional tournaments in his career. He has won two PGA Tour events, one on the European Tour, one on the Sunshine, and one on the Challenge Tour.

His first PGA Tour victory came in 2021 when he won the Barracuda Championship. Rooyen registered a five-point victory over Andrew Putnam.

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Erik van Rooyen's performance at the 2023 World Wide Technology

Rooyen was incredible with his game throughout the three days of the tournament, starting with a birdie on the first hole. He made a bogey on the second hole and then made three back-to-back birdies from the fifth to the seventh hole followed by a bogey on the eighth hole. He carded two more birdies in the first round on the back nine to score 68.

In the second round, Rooyen began with an eagle on the first hole and then carded two birdies on the third hole and the fifth hole. He made two more birdies on the 10th and 11th holes followed by three birdies from the 13th to the 15th holes. He then again made a birdie on the 17th and a double bogey on the 18th. He settled for a score of 64 in the second round.

Erik van Rooyen started the third round with two consecutive birdies before hitting an ace on the third hole. He made a bogey on the next and then two more birdies and another birdie on the 16th hole.

Rooyen saved best for the last. He played the lowest of the four rounds on Sunday. The 33-year-opd golfer played a round of 63 after making two birdies and a bogey on the front nine and six birdies on the back nine along with one eagle to score 63. He played four rounds of 68-64-66-63 to settle for a total of 27-under par 261.