Erik Van Rooyen Wins Maiden European Tour Title In Sweden

The South African beat Matt Fitzpatrick by one to win the Scandinavian Invitation

Erik Van Rooyen Wins Maiden European Tour Title In Sweden

Erik Van Rooyen won his maiden European Tour title with a birdie on the 72nd hole to beat Matt Fitzpatrick by one.

The South African began the day with the lead and his 64 (-6) got him to 19 under par, one ahead of Fitzpatrick who also shot 64.

Van Rooyen bogeyed the 17th to tie Fitzpatrick, who finished birdie-birdie, and the Cape Town native then birdied the par-5 18th for his first win.

Watch - The winning moment -

His victory marks the 150th European Tour win by a South African.

The 29-year-old was the Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year in 2018 and has had two runners-up finishes already this season.

He moves up to a career-high 61st in the world.

"It's too good, it's hard to describe," Van Rooyen said after victory.

"I was so nervous on 18. On 17 I was fine, I just didn't hit that putt hard enough and then I asked (caddie) Alex, 'what are we at?' and he told me that Matt went birdie-birdie.

"I've been putting so well all day and to hole that one to win my first one is pretty cool.

"I've gone close a bunch of times and every time I'm in contention the question gets asked. I'm just so proud of myself and Alex and everybody, I'm over the moon."

Home favourite Henrik Stenson was T3rd with Dean Burmester with Stenson making a hole-in-one on the 6th during the final round.

Scandinavian International Leaderboard -

1 Erik Van Rooyen -19

2 Matt Fitzpatrick -18

T3 Henrik Stenson -14

T3 Dean Burmester -14

T5 Sebastian Soderberg -13

T5 Sihwan Kim -13

T5 Alexander Levy -13

T5 Jamie Donaldson -13

T5 Wade Ormsby -13

The European Tour heads to Switzerland this week for the Omega European Masters at the stunning Crans-sur-Sierre GC.

FedEx Cup winner and World No.2 Rory McIlroy headlines along with Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia amongst others.

Expand Rory McIlroy Wins Second FedEx Cup For $15m Bonus

Rory McIlroy Wins Second FedEx Cup For $15m Bonus

The 30-year-old capped an excellent season with victory…

Expand How Far Do Average Golfers Actually Hit It?

How Far Do Average Golfers Actually Hit It?

These statistics show that average golfers probably aren't…

For all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels