Jaco van Zyl

Jaco Phillipus van Zyl is a professional golfer from South Africa.

Early life and amateur career

Van Zyl was born in Pretoria. He won the South [African Amateur Championship (golf)|South African Amateur] in 2000.

Professional career

In 2001, Van Zyl turned professional. He immediately joined the Sunshine Tour. He won for the first time on the tour at the Platinum Classic in 2005.
In 2007, van Zyl played on the PGA Tour, having gained his card at the 2006 qualifying school. He made the 36-hole cut only four times in 21 tournaments during his rookie season and finished 227th on the money list.
In 2009, van Zyl recorded the biggest win of his career at the Telkom PGA Championship and went on to win twice more during the season and finish in 4th place on the Order of Merit. Having won four more tournaments on the Sunshine Tour in 2010, Van Zyl ended the year by finishing in 5th place at the final stage of the European Tour's qualifying school to earn his place on European Tour for the 2011 season. He had a good first season with five top-10 placings and finished 50th on the Race to Dubai. This included a playoff loss at the Trophée Hassan II in April. David Horsey beat van Zyl and Rhys Davies when he birdied the second extra hole of the playoff.
In November 2015, van Zyl finished runner-up at the Turkish Airlines Open. He placed one shot behind Victor Dubuisson, after being tied for the lead after 54 holes.
In February 2016, van Zyl reached the top 50 in the Official [World Golf Ranking] for the first time.
In January 2017, van Zyl was defeated in a sudden-death playoff on the European Tour for the second time. He lost to Wang Jeung-hun at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, who birdied the first extra hole to defeat van Zyl and Joakim Lagergren.
In September 2022, van Zyl won his first tournament in over six years at the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge. He finished two shots ahead of Hennie Otto.