A double-bogey on the fifth hole on Thursday slowed Erik van Rooyen’s progress in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust at Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey, as he carded a two-under-par 69 for a share of 15th.
Van Rooyen ducked his approach to the fifth in the water, and then put the next one in the greenside bunker on the right. He was able to get up and down from there for his double-bogey. Together with five birdies and a bogey, that meant he was six shots off the lead which was shared by Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas at eight-under. They were three clear of Harold Varner III, with six players on four-under.
Garrick Higgo also made a solid start with a two-under-par 69 of his own with five birdies and three bogeys. Dylan Frittelli was one-under after the opening round, Branden Grace on even-par, and Charl Schwartzel on one-over.
With the top 70 players after this tournament advancing to the BMW Championship, Higgo has some work to do if he is to go through. He is currently projected to move to 82nd, so he needs to stay high up on the leaderboard. Frittelli is projected to 110th, so he seems unlikely to advance, while Grace and Schwartzel seem safe after the first round. World number seven Louis Oosthuizen is also safe as he rests a sore neck ahead of the final two tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule.
