Christiaan Bezuidenhout makes it two wins in two weeks with South Africa Open victory
Home favourite Christiaan Bezuidenhout follows up last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship win with an impressive five-shot victory at the South African Open, as Jamie Donaldson finished second to book a trip to Dubai.
Sunday 6 December 2020 15:58, UK
Christiaan Bezuidenhout will go into the season finale in Dubai with confidence flying after wrapping up back-to-back wins on home soil with victory at the South African Open.
Five shots ahead overnight, Bezuidenhout overcame a tentative outward half which saw his lead down to three by the turn at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, and he began the back nine with three consecutive birdies to restore his commanding advantage.
Bezuidenhout picked up one further shot at 16 and enjoyed a couple of fortunate bounces in another composed 69 which capped a convincing victory over Jamie Donaldson, whose outright runner-up finish earned him a place in next week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
But although Donaldson won the race for second, he was unable to apply significant pressure on the leader, who could have been forgiven for thinking the golfing Gods were against him when his six-foot birdie putt on the first hole circumnavigated most of the hole but refused to drop.
Content to grind out the pars and keep the mistakes at bay, Bezuidenhout would have been keeping a cautious eye on Donaldson in the group ahead, with the Welsh veteran making birdies at three of the first five holes but also a bogey at the fourth.
Bezuidenhout's bogey at the eighth was just his third blemish of the week, but his lead remained a comfortable three shots at the turn when Donaldson failed to save par at the ninth and slipped backed to one under for the final day.
With Dylan Frittelli struggling to find the short grass from the tee with driver, fairway-wood or long-iron, Bezuidenhout ignored the plight of his playing-partner and picked up a welcome first birdie of the round at the 10th.
Clearly galvanised, the 26-year-old birdied the next two holes to effectively put the result beyond doubt, with Donaldson gaining the upper hand to be the best of the rest, making birdies at the 11th, 14th and 16th before giving another back at 17.
But that scarcely mattered as a par at the last completed a 69 that was enough to secure outright second on 13 under, with Frittelli defying his waywardness off the tee to scramble a number of pars and somehow get round in red numbers, a birdie at the last adding up to a 71 and earning him the final podium place on 11 under par.
Dean Burmester also closed with a birdie and a 71 to finish fourth, with JC Ritchie making it four South Africans in the top five despite three late bogeys in his disappointing 72.
The tournament, and the month, however, belonged to Bezuidenhout as he stormed to fifth in the Race to Dubai with his second victory in a row on home soil.
A comprehensive four-shot winner in last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, Bezuidenhout tapped in at the last to complete four rounds in the 60s, win his third European Tour title and become the first player to win two consecutive events on the European Tour since Justin Rose in 2017.
"It's unbelievable to stand here with an Open win," he said. "It's any South African golfer's dream to win a national tournament. It's unreal.
"I fought hard today, the front nine things didn't really go my way and I just dug deep to come out with a win today. I knew I had to make pars coming in and I did it. I'm really, really chuffed to stand here as a winner."
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