February 26, 2025
Erik Van Rooyen has not started 2025 on the right foot, missing three cuts and finishing inside the top 30 just once in his first six events. He now shifts his focus to the Cognizant Classic, an event he has played in four times, with his best result being a T2 in 2024. In that strong performance, Van Rooyen found a lot of success with his putter, gaining nearly 7.7 strokes. This is a category where he has struggled so far this year, losing 2.972 strokes and ranking 123rd in strokes gained in putting. Another area of concern is Van Rooyen's par-four scoring, where he averages 4.01 strokes per hole, ranking 103rd on tour. However, Van Rooyen has the potential to find success on approach, ranking in the 83rd percentile for proximity from 150-200 yards, a range that accounts for 48.1% of all approach shots at PGA National. Additionally, he has gained 5.904 total strokes on approach and ranks 11th in proximity from 125-150 yards, which makes up 17.2% of the approach shots at this course. At $7,100 on DraftKings, fantasy managers should carefully weigh their options, but this could be a good spot for Van Rooyen to get back on track.
--Dakota Legg - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
February 17, 2025
Erik van Rooyen expects to be one of those trendy golfers to contend this week. The South African golfer will be playing not having to worry about too many Top 50 OWGR golfers (five). So van Rooyen ranks favorably in plenty of course comparison models. He has missed the cut in three of his five appearances in 2025 so far. However, his metrics from 2024 could appear at any time. Overall, van Rooyen drives the ball 308.2 yards on average since 2024. He ranked 35th in driving distance, 38th in Greens In Regulation, and 26th in strokes gained to putting (0.403). DFS wise, van Rooyen, gets slotted in the $7,000 to $7,900 range and could be a worthwhile option. Like Matti Schmid, he is a value longer shot to consider for betting.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
November 5, 2024
Erik van Rooyen was an unlikely winner of last year's World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico. Birdies at the Baja course were the name of the game as van Rooyen held off Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas by two strokes. The South African golfer claimed his second PGA Tour win. 2024 started off fairly well but van Rooyen has struggled some over the second half. His last Top 10 result came at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in June. The previous two weeks have seen the golfer miss some putts he normally makes which has resulted in finishes outside the Top 40. If he can get the putter going (0.403 strokes gained - 27th), van Rooyen could help from a fantasy standpoint.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
July 23, 2024
With such a weak field this week coming off arguably the toughest major of the season, there are much riskier options than Erik Van Rooyen, who has still managed to keep his mostly made-cut run alive, aside from a poor outing at the U.S. Open. The problem is that hanging around 45th place on a leaderboard doesn't exactly move the needle for DFS managers. That pitfall is mostly due to a poor short game, as he is ranked 148th in strokes gained around the green (minus-0.245) for the season while being inside the top 50 in every other strokes-gained metric. It's a frustrating song and dance, and at $10,700 on FanDuel, there is likely someone with a higher ceiling around him.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour