SOUTH Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout survived a few anxious moments before cruising to a six-shot victory in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.
Bezuidenhout took a five-shot lead into the final round and moved seven clear with birdies on the first two holes, but bogeyed four of the next five to see his advantage cut to three by playing partner and home favourite Jon Rahm.
However, a hat-trick of birdies from the ninth put Bezuidenhout firmly back in command and the 25-year-old duly claimed his first European Tour title and secured a place in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Bezuidenhout, who was surprised by members of his family after holing out on the 18th, said: “It’s great. I’m proud of myself for hanging in there today after a tough stretch in the middle of my round.
“I made a great save on eight which kept the momentum on my side and bounced back with three birdies in a row there and that just settled me down nicely.
“I was still nervous, it’s a difficult course and anything can happen, especially on the last three holes, but I’m really pleased with the way I played and to finish it off is unbelievable.”
Rahm finished in a tie for second alongside fellow Spaniards Alvaro Quiros, Eduardo de la Riva and Adri Arnaus, as well as France’s Mike Lorenzo Vera, with tournament host Sergio Garcia a shot further back.
Garcia, who was seeking a fourth straight win in the event, said: “It was a very solid week and you’ve got to be realistic.
“I feel like I played the best I’ve played all year and made maybe two putts all week.
“I still finished seventh and that shows how well I hit the ball and that’s very positive.
“There’s going to be other weeks where those putts that are burning the edges are going to drop and then it will be an amazing week.”
It was while competing in the British Amateur at Portrush in 2014 that Bezuidenhout failed a drugs test, with the resulting two-year ban eventually reduced to nine months.
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