PGA Tour ace Erik van Rooyen delivered a savage blow to Jon Rahm, snubbing him with the claim that he’s no Cristiano Ronaldo of golf. The South African golfer grabbed attention with his exemplary performance at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson – heralded as one of the season’s eight premier PGA Tour Signature Events – clinching second place behind two-time Masters title winner Scottie Scheffler just last week.
Though he couldn’t outshine the golfing titan and finished behind, Van Rooyen pocketed a cool £747,000 ($1million) for the effort. However, the substantial payday didn’t sweeten his view on the controversial Signature Events unique entry rules. Launched to rival the lucrative pots LIV Golf promises, the golfer isn’t one to mince words about his disdain for the structure and vented his frustration when probed.
“How honest do you want me to be? I hate it,” Van Rooyen declared unapologetically. “I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them. The guys on the PGA Tour are so good. It’s so deep. I get that you’ve got the Scotties of the world, the Rorys of the world, and people want to see them, it’s entertaining.
“Like the PGA Championship coming up, for example, I think it’s the strongest field in the game, similar to The Players. I love competing, so selfishly I want to compete against those guys.”
The 35-year-old has been a staunch voice amid golf’s money controversy post the rift between PGA and LIV Golf, reports the Mirror US.
Drawing comparison with heavy-hitting signings, Van Rooyen sharply critiqued the massive paydays of fellow golfers like Rahm, who’s said to have inked a £261m ($350m) deal with LIV in 2023.
He went on to imply that these earnings are exaggerated when stacked up against the Portuguese football icon’s legend staggering $200m-a-year Al Nassr contract he signed that same year.
“I think this idea that we’re worth what Premier League soccer players are worth is completely mind-blowing,” he frankly expressed. “I’m sorry, Jon Rahm, you’re a fantastic player, but you’re not worth the zeroes they gave you.
“You’re not worth more than what Cristiano Ronaldo is making. I’m sorry, we don’t have the following. We’re not the NBA. We’re not the NFL. I get there are a handful of really famous and really good golfers. How many of them have won tournaments so far this year?”
