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Erik van Rooyen leads the leaderboard of The Cognizant Classic 2024 while playing the 11th hole of the 4th round. The event was halted due to bad weather conditions, but that didn't stop van Rooyen from spending time with his fans.
The South African marched to the clubhouse when the threat of rain forced the West Palm Beach Classic to be halted. Nevertheless, he found time to take pictures with some fans who wanted a souvenir of the leader.
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The moment was posted by the PGA Tour on its official X account (formerly Twitter). The video quickly went viral, reaching 165,000 views in two hours.
The video shows Erik van Rooyen alighting from the golf cart that was transporting him and agreeing to take a picture with two children who were watching the final round of The Cognizant Classic. A voice is also heard calling the South African "Man of the people."
The Cognizant Classic was halted due to the threat of bad weather at 12:50 pm (Eastern Time). At the time, Erik van Rooyen was playing the 11th hole, with a score of 8 under for the round.
This performance keeps him at the top of the leaderboard, with a score of 14 under, with the previous day's leaders yet to start their fourth round. With improving weather conditions, the event is scheduled to restart at 4:20 pm (Eastern Time).
A look into Erik van Rooyen's PGA Tour journey
Erik van Rooyen began his professional career in 2013, playing on the Sunshine Tour. From there, he transitioned to the European circuits, the Challenge Tour first, and the DP World Tour later.
His PGA Tour experience began in 2018, participating in several tournaments co-sanctioned by the American circuit. In August 2020, he earned a Special Temporary Membership for the following season after finishing T20 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
The 2020-2021 season was his first full one on the PGA Tour. The South African played 27 tournaments and missed 10 cuts, but won his first tournament on the circuit (2021 Barracuda Championship), which gave him his circuit card through 2023.
Since then, van Rooyen has become a regular player on the PGA Tour. Finishing 2023, he won his second tournament at this level (World Wide Technology Championship), extending his membership until the end of 2025.
His overall performance on the PGA Tour includes 97 tournaments played, with 57 cuts passed. His results include the two aforementioned victories, in addition to third place and 10 other Top 10s.
During the current season, he has played six tournaments (not counting The Cognizant Classic) with a T8 in the Mexico Open at Vidanta as his best result. He has participated in two limited field tournaments (The Sentry and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) and has made the cut in three of the other four events.
