Christiaan Bezuidenhout says his impressive victory at the SA Open is a childhood dream that became reality on Sunday.
The South African cruised to a five-shot win at the Gary Player Country Club in another highly dominant display for back-to-back triumphs on the European Tour.
Having won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek the week before, Bezuidenhout is now a three-time winner on the European Tour but thinks the SA Open might be his biggest achievement yet.
READ: Bezuidenhout wins SA Open
‘It feels amazing. It wasn’t easy out there and the first nine didn’t go my way, but I hung in there. To stand here as the SA Open champion is unbelievable. This is massive for me. It’s always been a dream and I wasn’t sure when, or if, I would achieve it,’ said Bezuidenhout.
The 26-year-old fought off the challenge of Welshman Jamie Donaldson, who hinted at a late charge for the summit after a quick start to his own final round.
Bezuidenhout made one bogey on his front nine but found his rhythm on the turn with three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes, before another on the 16th all but secured victory for him.
‘When you go into the final round with a five-shot lead you are expecting to win it, so I did put a bit of pressure on myself. When things didn’t go my way on the front nine my caddie just kept me calm, and we did a great job coming in,’ he added.
WATCH: Bezuidenhout’s final round
South African Casey Jarvis claimed the Freddie Tait trophy as the leading amateur, finishing tied 25th on one under par with rounds of 73, 74, 71 and 69.
‘This means a lot to me and I’m very honoured to have won this trophy. There are some great names on this trophy. It’s a goal I set for myself and I’m just very honoured to have achieved it,’ Jarvis said.
