Golf has been dubbed as a gentleman’s game since its inception. It has been known so owing to the sense of camaraderie and integrity that is associated with it. And Erik Van Rooyen, the South African professional has proven to the world why he is someone that belongs to the prestigious sport once again.

Rooyen managed to put up nothing short of an amazing performance at the El Cardonal on Sunday to top the leaderboard at the fifth event of the FedEx Fall season. However, what caught the attention of the golf world was not his win but the heartwarming reason behind it, all for a terminally ill friend!

Erik Van Rooyen’s inspiration behind his victory

The 33-year-old was able to register a score of 27-under 261 to clinch his second win on the PGA Tour at the World Wide Technology Championship. He showcased a scintillating performance on the course with a cool head allowing him to take home a winner’s cut of $1,476,000. And when asked about how he managed to pull off a collected display, he owed it all to his best friend, Jon Trasamar.

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In an interview after the match, the golfer, along with his caddy Alex Gaugert, struggled to hold back his tears as he mentioned how he was able to play calmly because “there’s bigger stuff in life than golf.” The professional had also written down a musical note along with the initials “J.T.” on his balls, as a tribute to his sick friend.

Continuing on with his response, the South African revealed how his best friend has melanoma and “is not going to make it.” The 2X PGA Tour divulged how “every shot out there today” was for J.T. Moreover, he also expressed how fighting for a cause more than just a “silly trophy” puts things into perspective while confessing how “it didn’t matter” in the end whether he won or lost at the PGA Tour event. But, on the greens, he had a “fricking job to do,” and he did it beautifully.

It is an inspiring story when a champion dedicates his victory to the special people in his life. And, Rooyen was truly more so as he did the same for his best friend who has not much longer to live.

The story of Rooyen and his best friend Trasamar

The 1X European Tour champ and his caddy, Gaugert played golf in college with Trasamar. He met his future best friend when he was 19 years old when he started to attend the University of Minnesota, after which they were college roommates for close to three years. The trio won the 2014 Big Ten Championship together following which Trasamar would go ahead to play professional golf in Mini-tours while caddying at the side.

However, his happy life saw a bane in the form of cancer. The athlete was in remission for a while after which they learned the horrific truth, the disease had returned and spread throughout the whole body. The golfer-caddy duo, who learned of this the past Tuesday, admitted how he broke down after Friday’s round when he learned how his best friend would not sadly make it.

And now, they would be “flying up to Minnesota” to see Trasamar, the friend they love so much. One can’t help but respect the champ for being the person he is.

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