BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 2021

Erik Van Rooyen

Tahoe Mountain Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Plus 10 for today, plus 34 overall. Tell me how the third round went.

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: It went really well. If you compare it to yesterday, yesterday I got off to a really good start, birdied the first three holes, and today not as fast as yesterday, but played really well. Just I've been putting great all week. When you're putting well, it's easy to stay patient, and I did that well today.

Q. Have you been setting yourself up for maybe some more aggressive shots, playing a little bit more risky because there is a reward on the format?

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: Honestly, not really. I think at the end of the day the player that plays the best is going to win. I don't see why I have to be more risky. There's obviously a couple par-5s that are gettable. There's a couple par-4s which could be sort of potentially drivable. But there's trouble lurking everywhere.

I don't see a reason why you have to push for anything, but obviously walking off with birdies always feels good.

Q. Tournament debut here. First time on the course, playing in elevation and even some smokey weather. What are some general thoughts about how this course matches your game.

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: It's a beautiful golf course. I was really impressed when I got here on Monday. Elevation is not a problem. In Johannesburg the ball flies just about the same distance, so I'm used to that.

Smoke is something I don't think any of us are used to, but like I just said here, it didn't really bother me yesterday, and yeah, we'll see what we have tomorrow, whether it's going to be windy or smokey. We'll take what we get.

Q. 300 FedExCup points on the line and 139th in the standings. How important is it to put yourself in a comfortable standing?

ERIK VAN ROOYEN: Yeah, it's been a poor year for me result-wise. I haven't really gained any momentum. Obviously it's nice for me to be in contention this week, and then obviously looking forward to next week is another big week.

Knowing that, there's always going to be more golf to play, whether I make it or not, but the goal is obviously to make the Playoffs, so we'll give it a crack.