Myrtle Beach Classic tips: Erik van Rooyen ready to shine in weaker field

John Fearn
7 May 2024

It’s a busy week on the US golf circuit, with two events running concurrently in the Carolinas, and the Myrtle Beach Classic gives a big field the chance to carve their name on the PGA honours board.

While the world’s golfing elite converge on the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, down in Charlotte, South Carolina, 133 players line up to compete for the Myrtle Beach Classic, a newly-specified Additional Event which (B-list field or not) has a healthy $4million prize pot up for grabs.

Myrtle Beach Classic key stats:

When: May 9-12 2024
Where: The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
How long: 7,347 yards - par 71
What to expect: Generous tree-lined fairways, wide greens lakeside layout with water on most holes
Who won last year: N/A - Inaugural event

When the favourite of a tournament is available at 22/1, then it's pretty clear that it's a wide-open contest, and just about any player in the field will tee off with realistic hopes of landing the £720K first prize, not to mention the 300 FedExCup points that goes with it.

That favourite tag is attached to Ben Griffin, who coincidentally hails from North Carolina and has been in decent form recently, notching up five top-20 finishes in his last ten starts, with a best of 13th= at last weekend’s Byron Nelson.

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He should be there or thereabouts, but of the market leaders, it is 25/1 shot Erik Van Rooyen who catches our eye after showing signs of making a serious impact on the PGA Tour.

His 2024 campaign has been littered with occasional missed cuts, but when he has made the weekend he has proved to be capable of rubbing shoulders with the big names on the circuit.

He tied for second behind Austin Eckroat at the Cognizant Classic, acquitted himself well at the Masters, and was last seen finishing strongly at the RBC Heritage, albeit too late to bring himself above mid-division.

The South African already has two PGA Tour wins as well a DP World Tour success under his belt, most recently landing the World Wide Technology Championship last November, and his prowess on coastal courses could serve him well here, especially with so many of the game’s big names busy elsewhere.

Finishing just behind Van Rooyen at the Cognizant in fourth spot was Kyoung Hoon (KH) Lee, who is another talented golfer capable of outplaying his 35/1 pre-tournament odds.

He also earned a top-10 finish at the Valspar and was in contention for the first three days at the Byron Nelson before a disappointing level-par final round saw him slide back into the pack.

Nonetheless, the South Korean’s game is in good shape, and if he can just hold that together for four full rounds, then it would be no surprise to see him contending come Sunday evening.

Outsiders to watch:

Ryan Fox (45/1) - The New Zealander has missed more cuts than a golfer of his calibre should, but he has all the attributes to compete at this level.
Garrick Higgo (60/1) - An undoubted talent, the South African has struggled against golf’s elite, but his skill set should allow him to be more competitive in this field.
JJ Spaun (66/1) - Struggling this season, but a PGA Tour winner of the Texas Open two years ago, JJ could well use this weaker-field event as a springboard to recovery.
Nicolas Echavarria (70/1) - Bang in form with two top-25 finishes either side of coming fourth in the Zurich Classic pairs, he could well be overpriced in this line-up.
Adrien Dumont (80/1) - Won on the Korn Ferry Tour in South Carolina last season, 6th in the Puerto Rico Open in March, and scored four sub-70 rounds at the Byron Nelson last week.

Suggested outsider bets: Nicolas Echavarria (70/1 )and Adrien Dumont (80/1) each-way in the Myrtle Beach Classic