JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen surged to a career-high 89th in the world golf rankings released on Monday.
Van Rooyen finished an impressive tied-eighth at the PGA Championship in New York on Sunday, which prompted his rise of 17 spots – to mark the first time the player has been ranked inside the top-100 in the world.
The 29-year-old, making his debut in the PGA Championship, carded rounds of 70, 68, 70 and 73 to finish as the top South African in the field on one-over for the week.
Justin Harding (tied 54th) and Louis Oosthuizen (tied 60th) were the only other SA players to make the cut, from the eight which began the week.
Van Rooyen has played one other major – The Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2018.
There, he was also the top-placed South African as he finished tied-17th on that occasion.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/PGAChamps?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PGAChamps #BethpageBlack #LFG pic.twitter.com/pTo9ogHodD
— Erik van Rooyen (@FredVR_)
Oosthuizen remains the top-ranked SA player in the world at 20th, with Justin Harding next best in 45th spot.
Branden Grace rounds out the SA trio in the top-50 at number 49.
Dylan Frittelli is the fifth South African in the top-100 in 97th position.