FILE - Erik van Rooyen, of South Africa, discusses his shot with caddie Alex Gaugert on the second hole during the second round at the Masters golf tournament on Friday, April 8, 2022, in Augusta, Ga. Van Rooyen and Gaugert were University of Minnesota teammates with Jon Trasamar, their close friend who is hospitalized with cancer. Erik van Rooyen, of South Africa, watches his shot to the eighth green during the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament Sunday, Oct.
Van Rooyen used to say it was always among the top five questions that came his way: How does someone from the Western Cape of South Africa wind up playing for the Minnesota Gophers? He loved his four years there. He met his wife in Minnesota.“Jon and his family lived about two hours away from Minneapolis,” van Rooyen said. “They were there at the airport to meet me, to say ‘Hi,’ because he was going to be my roommate and teammate soon after. We obviously became best friends.
But when he returned for a checkup last November, the cancer had returned and spread to his ribs. By February, it was in his liver, back, spine and legs. According to Golf Digest, Trasamar has titanium rods inserted in his femurs to stabilize them because the cancer is eroding them. “I wasn’t calm all the time,” van Rooyen said. “When I step on the golf course, I’ve got a freaking job to do. Now we can celebrate and cry. Until that last putt drops, it’s focus and do it for Trasy. We love him so much. I’m still in disbelief what he’s going through and I wish I could take all his pain away.”
He missed the green to the right and saved par. He made par on the next hole. And then he couldn’t miss. “The back nine, just an absolute blur,” van Rooyen said.
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