The most heartfelt win

What started as a somewhat forgettable Fall event at Tiger’s resort course in Baja, ended as one of the most emotional, tear-jerking tournaments in recent memory. 

South African Erik van Rooyen shot a back nine 28 (including a birdie, birdie, eagle finish) to capture his second PGA Tour victory at the WWT Championship. The win came after van Rooyen received a text message on Tuesday from his best friend and former teammate at the University of Minnesota — Jon Trasamar — that contained the worst news. 

• Trasamar’s cancer spread and doctors said he has 6-10 weeks left to live. 

“When I kick the bucket one day, whenever that might be, this is not what I'm going to be thinking about,” van Rooyen said of his victory on Sunday. “I'm going to be thinking about the people that I love the most and Jon Trasamar is one of those people.” 

• He added: “All I want is to go play nine holes with him somewhere, you know.”

With the win, van Rooyen — who was on the bubble to keep his PGA Tour card next season — secures his full-time status for 2024. 

Nick’s thoughts: Super, super emotional stuff. And, it’s a reminder that deep friendships — especially those formed on the golf course — are among the few things in this life that actually matter. 

No Laying Up’s Kevin Van Valkenburg probably put it best: “May we all make a friend who loves us this much in our final days.”

More notes from Mexico: 

• Matt Kuchar was cruising along with a 6-shot lead on Saturday before making a quadruple bogey late in his round. Kuchar still had a chance to win Sunday, but his pars on the final four holes weren’t enough against the red-hot van Rooyen. 

• Camilo Villegas — who’s had his own unimaginable grief in recent years — was tied at the top with Kucher heading into Sunday, but also fell short. Still, his T2 alongside Kuch was Villegas’ best finish on Tour since 2016. 

• Ludvig Aberg shot an 8-under 64 in his final round to finish T10. The PGA Tour rookie has now finished inside the top 15 in his last four starts. 🤯

Quick Nine Pick ‘Em (graded)

Thanks to everyone who played along in our free pick ‘em contest this week. And congrats to our winner Jason Y., who went a perfect 6-for-6!! The $90 prize is headed your way. 

• Honorable mentions (but sadly, no cash) to Jmac and Bud, who went an impressive 5-for-6. 

Here’s how the picks played out: 

1. ✅ Will Ludvig Aberg beat Cam Young?

• Aberg T10 vs. Young T54 

2.  ❌ Will Sahith Theegala finish within the Top 10?

• Missed cut 

3. ❌ Will Lucas Glover finish within the Top 20?

• T59

4. ❌ Will 17-year-old Billy Davis make the cut?

5. ❌ Will Michael Block make the cut?

6. ✅ Will Beau Hossler beat Keith Mitchell?  

• Hossler T15 vs. Mitchell T38 

Congrats again to Jason Y. And if you missed out this time, no worries! We’ll have new pick’s to fill out on Wednesday ahead of this week’s Bermuda Championship.

More news 

🏌️‍♂️ Adam Long (and straight?) hit every single fairway this week at El Cardonal (56-for-56). 

• It’s the first time a player has achieved such driving perfection on Tour in over 30 years. 

• Long finished T23.

🐘 🦒 Max Homa and Justin Thomas are on a safari vacation together, if you haven’t seen the videos already. 

🤔 The PGA Tour said it’ll allow its members to play in LIV Golf’s qualifier event in Abu Dhabi next month. 

• The top three finishers from the event will earn entry onto LIV’s tour for 2024. 

• Of course, the PGA Tour would likely take exception if one of their players qualified and decided to play in one of LIV’s regular season events.

And finally…

A moment of Zen — Tiger caddying for his son Charlie this weekend at Notah Begay’s junior golf championship.

That’s all for today. Thanks so much for reading y’all and I’ll see you back here on Wednesday. Until then, Nick B.