Ryan Fox vs Erik van Rooyen Prediction: An entertaining opener is expected

The Shriners Children's Open tournament for 2024 is here, and in this day-one action, Ryan Fox will play Erik van Rooyen. This game will take place at TPC at Summerlin as the two golfers hope for a strong start. Let’s look into the match analysis and make a prediction. 

New Zealand professional golfer Ryan Fox turned professional in 2012 and plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour, and PGA Tour of Australasia. Ryan Fox's first professional game was in the 2012 PGA Tour of Australasia, and he has since won 19 matches on the tour. Since turning professional, Ryan Fox has amassed 17 professional titles, with four coming on the European Tour. Coming into this game with a very good chance of winning, Ryan Fox will look to deliver a quality performance as he hopes to make it to the next round of this tournament. 

South African golfer Erik van Rooyen turned professional in 2013 and presently plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. Since turning professional, Erik van Rooyen has played on the 2017 Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour. However, Erik van Rooyen's first professional PGA Tour event win came at the Barracuda Championship in 2021 as he defeated Andrew Putnam. In his career, Erik van Rooyen has six professional titles, his recent coming in the World Wide Technology Championship in 2023, while also picking a European Tour title win in the Scandinavian Masters.

These are two top professionals, but Ryan Fox has played at the top level and delivered. While Ryan Fox will look to show character as he has a good chance here, I believe the experience of delivering top-level performance in big tournaments like this will be an issue for him, looking closely at how his opponent has performed over the years. This should be a tight game, but I will back Erik van Rooyen to win, as he has had top-level performances on the PGA Tour.