PGA Tour star forced to find replacement after caddie earns spot in same event

25 July 2023 , 21:56

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Erik van Rooyen is without a caddie

PGA Tour star Erik van Rooyen has been forced to find a replacement caddie for this week's 3M Open after Alex Gaugert secured a spot at the very same event.

Gaugert's usual role on the PGA Tour is operating the bag of van Rooyen, who returns to action this week in Minnesota. Despite usually working as a team, the pair will now go up against each other after the caddie secured a playing spot in Monday's qualifying. A professional golfer himself, Gaugert initially met South African native van Rooyen whilst competing together on the University of Minnesota golf team, and became his caddie back in 2019.

As well as working on the bag for the 33-year-old, Gaugert still finds time to concentrate on his own game, and that paid off this week. And it seems his time as a caddie on the biggest stage of all has helped his personal skills too. Speaking to Wisconsin.Golf last year, he said: "I’m a PGA of America member so I’ll play in some little events here and there. You learn a ton being out here, what it really takes and how it can get done.”

Not only will the Gaugert and van Rooyen be competing in the same field, but they will also be playing alongside each other in the opening two rounds. This comes after it was confirmed the pair had been selected in the same group alongside Ryan Moore on Thursday and Friday.

Erik van Rooyen will compete against caddie Alex Gaugert at the 3M Open

Whilst working alongside each other, van Rooyen and Gaugert have one win to their name, after the South African got over the line at the 2021 Barracuda Championship with the American on his bag. Van Rooyen currently finds himself ranked 195th in the world.

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The 33-year-old currently sits in 127th in the FedEx Cup rankings, and will be out for a strong week at the 3M Open to draw closer to the top 70 and end-of-season play-offs. Gaugert meanwhile will make his PGA Tour debut on Thursday, as he currently sits 3841st in the world rankings.

Joshua Lees