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The 26-year-old charged a final round of 69 for a total of 270 and a five-shot victory over Jamie Donaldson of Wales, who also finished with a 69 at Gary Player Country Club.
FILE: Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Image: Twitter / @ dunhilllinks
SUN CITY – Christiaan Bezuidenhout became the first consecutive winner on the European Tour since Justin Rose of England in 2017 when he lifted the South African Open trophy in Sun City on Sunday.
The 26-year-old charged a final round of 69 for a total of 270 and a five-shot victory over Jamie Donaldson of Wales, who also finished with a 69 at Gary Player Country Club.
Bezuidenhout won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa last weekend with four U-70 rounds and repeated the feat at the second oldest national golf championship in the world after the British Open.
It was the third consecutive victory for a South African at the event with Bezuidenhout emulating Branden Grace and big winner Louis Oosthuizen.
This year’s final standings were dominated by the South Africans with Dylan Frittelli (71) third, Dean Burmester (71) fourth and JC Ritchie (72) fifth.
“It’s an incredible feeling to win the South African Open,” Bezuidenhout said after three rounds of 67 and a closing of 69 in northwest South Africa.
“Every South African golfer dreams of lifting this trophy and now I have joined so many illustrious names that are engraved on it.
“I didn’t have a good front of nine, I did eight bogeys, I turned one and my five-shot lead overnight was reduced to just two.
“But three birdies out of 10 did the trick, gave me a break, and I followed my caddy’s advice to be patient and not take unnecessary risks.”
Bezuidenhout took what his caddy said to heart by scoring five of the remaining six holes and making a birdie on the 16th.
The South African’s recipe for success includes driving straight, hitting the greens at regulation, and if the birdie putts don’t fall, it’s usually touches for par.
At Sun City this week, he birdied 21 holes and bogey only three, two of them in the third par three.
Donaldson, seeking his first European Tour win since the 2014 Masters in the Czech Republic, fought bravely and made six birdies, but also made three holes, with three putts on the 17th ending any hope of a miraculous victory.
Frittelli, team fifth in the Masters last month, stopped 15 holes, birdied two and bogey one when he needed a round in the mid-1960s to pose a serious threat.
The South African Open was the last of three European Tour events in the country and the season concludes with the World Tour Championship in Dubai, starting Thursday.
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