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Photo by: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Van Rooyen To Represent South Africa At Paris Olympics

6/18/2024 8:52:00 PM | Men's Golf

MINNEAPOLIS -  Former University of Minnesota men's golfer Erik van Rooyen has been selected to represent his home country of South Africa in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris later this summer. 

Van Rooyen, the first Gopher golfer to ever participate in the Olympics, will be competing with fellow South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout for the right to claim a gold medal in this year's games. 

The 2024 Paris games will be played in a 72-hole, stroke-play format, with the top three individuals receiving medalist honors in both the men's and women's competitions. The men's golf tournament will take place August 1-4 at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France. 

A 2013 Gopher graduate, Van Rooyen is just a few months removed from his second win on the PGA Tour at the 2023 World Wide Technologies Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico. 

A native of Oudtshoorn, South Africa, Van Rooyen was a three-time NCAA regional qualifier during his time as a Gopher and thrice finished among the top-10 at the Big Ten Championships. Van Rooyen played in three NCAA Regionals and was a three-time All-Region honoree with the Maroon and Gold. 
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