PALMETTO CHAMPIONSHIP AT CONGAREE

June 10, 2021

Erik Van Rooyen

Congaree Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Great opening round 6-under 65, tied for second here at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Talk to us a little bit about your day. Certainly a good stretch there to get started on the opening nine.

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: Yeah, obviously a fantastic day of golf. I didn't get a chance to really see the back nine, my pro-am rained out yesterday, or there was some weather in the area and it got called off. So I got in late Tuesday, played the front nine real quick, I was sought absolutely knackered after the U.S. Open qualifier. And then my caddie did such a great job, Alex has been amazing, so kind of guided me around the back nine. I got off to, made some really solid par saves, just some momentum builders really and from there on things just flowed nicely.

Q. The stretch of golf ending at the PGA Championship I know you took some time off, is it helpful to come to a golf course that a lot of these players have not seen, yourself included, so everyone's kind of starting on a clean slate coming off some down time?

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: Yeah, perhaps. Yeah, like I say everybody's kind of starting on a clean slate, but then again it's our job, right, to play golf. And the guys at this level, they're so good that they need one practice round and they kind of know where they're going. So I don't know if it's really too much of an advantage or disadvantage. You're going to have guys no matter who they are shoot low every single day, so...

Q. What did you do during the down time?

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: The first week I did nothing. Tried to switch off social media because it was pretty hectic and probably deservedly so. Then went up to Minnesota to visit the in-laws a little bit. My wife had a baby shower, we're expecting our first baby, which is cool. I played a lot of golf with some friends and kind of found some rhythm.

Q. A lot of accolades for Congaree Golf Club, certainly a unique venue for the PGA TOUR. What are your thoughts on the course so far this week?

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: Oh, it's absolutely fantastic. It's really fun to kind of mix it up, I guess, on TOUR as well. It's a beautiful layout, it plays quite different to anything we kind of see on TOUR, which makes for a lot of fun, at least for the players. So I'm really enjoying it.