Christiaan Bezuidenhout saved his best for last as he blazed to an eight-under-par 64 on Sunday in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship as his third-place finish secured him his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season.
His bogey-free closing round saw him climb 11 places on the leaderboard and 10 positions on the Korn Ferry Tour rankings to fifth as she showed just why he is ranked 44th in the world and jjst why he belongs on the world’s biggest stages.
The tournament was won by Joseph Bramlett of the United States, who overtook 54-hole leader Trey Mullinax with a closing 65 to win by four shots at 20-under-par. Bezuidenhout was one shot further back on 15-under.
Bezuidenhout set the tone early one in his round as he birdied the first hole of his day, and he picked up three more ahead of the turn on three, five and seven. More gains came on 10, 11, 15 and 17, as his accuracy off the tee and into the greens paid off handsomely. He hit 13 of 14 fairways off the tee, and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
Dawie van der Walt, the 38-year-old veteran, closed with a four-under-par 68 to regain his PGA Tour playing privileges, thanks to a late-season burst of form. Playing from Kingwood, Texas after attending Lamar University, he posted consecutive top-15s in the last two Finals events to return to the PGA Tour for the first time since 2016.