Former Gopher Erik van Rooyen has no problem being in Tiger Woods' wake

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Erik van Rooyen and Tom Hoge played a practice round together on Wednesday at Augusta National in preparation for the first round of the Masters.

Both have connections to Minnesota. Van Rooyen is from South Africa but played golf at the University of Minnesota and has become a success story, with four professional wins. He is playing in his 11th major and second Masters, having withdrawn because of a back injury in 2020.

Hoge grew up in Fargo and frequently played junior golf in Minnesota.

Van Rooyen praised Hoge's game and his victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year, which qualified Hoge to play at Augusta National this weekend.

"I don't know Tom super well,'' van Rooyen said. "I played with him once or twice on tour. Tom is a fantastic guy. I was happy to see him get his first win at Pebble this year. So it was a very enjoyable nine holes.''

Asked if he liked his chances this week, van Rooyen said, "I always like my chances, every time I tee it up.''

Wednesday, he, Hoge and Cameron Champ played the back nine, right behind Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Fred Couples.

Couples has been playing the Masters since 1983. He said he has never seen crowds larger than those following Woods during practice rounds this week. He even altered his usual walking route to the 10th tee to avoid fans pursuing Tiger.

"On Monday, I've never seen anything like it,'' Couples said. "And I've been here in the last group, and won. … They wanted to see the big guy, and they saw him, and they saw good golf.''

Van Rooyen saw those massive crowds on Wednesday leaving the greens as his group approached and Woods left for the next tee box.

When Woods was young, some of his competitors hated getting caught in the wake of his crowds. That's not how van Rooyen feels.

"It's awesome to see him back,'' van Rooyen said. "Look, my back's been sore, nothing like his, but I have a glimpse of what it's like, and then obviously now the accident that he had. I think it's just awesome for me to have him back. I think the golfing world needs him. The fans obviously love it.''

Van Rooyen's first major was the 2018 British Open, and he finished tied for 17th. In his next three majors, he finished tied for eighth, 43rd and 20th. In 2021, he played in three majors, missing the cut three times.

Van Rooyen's caddie is Alex Gaugert, who also played for the Gophers. This week, Van Rooyen has his parents in town, and he has stayed in touch with many of his friends from Minnesota.

"Oh, yeah, we're all still really close,'' he said. "We went on a golfing trip at the end of last year after the Tour Championship. We just had a wedding two or three weeks ago, one of my best friends.''

Van Rooyen has one opportunity on tour to return to Minnesota, at the 3M Open. "I'd love to play the 3M," he said. "It's after the [British] Open Championship this year. I flew back last year, and I probably will this year."