Erik van Rooyen shot two eagles at the par-5s 6th and 12th, five birdies and one bogey en route to a season-low 8-under 63, one stroke shy of his career-low 62, to take a one-shot lead at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
“Greedily, I feel like I left a few out there,” said the South African “Then again, a shot like 6, the 3-iron I had into that par 5 turned out great. I’m not planning to hit it to 6 feet to that flag. A give-and-take in golf, and really happy with the round.”
This was his first time making multiple eagles in any individual stroke play event on the PGA TOUR. He has won twice on Tour including once at the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos.
“Two eagles is pretty rare, right? It doesn’t happen that often. If you can do that and you can kind of capitalize on the rest of the round, you’re going to have 8 under like I did today, so that was obviously nice.
“I like to think I’m stepping into my best golf. Had a few injuries the last few years and I’m finally healthy and good golf’s starting to show up. So I like to think the best golf is still ahead of me.”
Finland’s Sami Välimäki, in his eleventh start on the PGA TOUR, shot six birdies in his first ten holes, plus an eagle 2 at the par-4 7th hole en route to 7-under 64, matching his career low on Tour.
American David Lipsky made nine birdies, tying his career most in a single round, and lies in a share of third place at 6-under alongside Sweden’s Henrik Norlander who made three birdies and an eagle in his final five holes.
Chilean Cristobal Del Solar, in his second PGA TOUR start after earning a sponsor exemption to this event in 2023, also shares third place as does South African MJ Daffue who learned Sunday night that he was the recipient of a sponsor exemption when Will Zalatoris withdrew.
Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5
The winner of the Mexico Open at Vidanta will earn a spot in all five remaining Signature Events (if a non-member, must accept membership after the win), while other TOUR members are fighting for spots in the Aon Next 10 and the Aon Swing 5 to earn a place in the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
