By John Huggan
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Of the 25 men who claimed PGA Tour cards via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last week, five are in the field at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship. And two of those – Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Christiaan Bezuidenhout – are leading. At either ends of a long day on the Burma Road course, both shot eight-under-par 64s to sit one stroke ahead of former Masters champion Adam Scott.

Coincidence? Bezuidenhout doesn’t think so.

“It was a big boost for me to get my PGA Tour card last week,” said the 27-year old South African, whose round included seven birdies, an eagle, and only one dropped shot. “So I’m sure Kiradech is feeling the same way. My game was solid today, as it has been for a while now. Every now and then my putter has gone cold. And I’ve had days when I’ve not been finding the right places on the greens. It’s been a while since I played badly though. Things have been going very well for me. Which is great. We all know that golf is a series of ups and downs. But right now I’m doing the right things most of the time.”

That was certainly true at the 552-yard par-5 fourth. Just over the green in two, Bezuidenhout pitched in on the fly to complete a spectacular eagle, what was the highlight of an outward half of 30.

“I was playing solid the whole day,” he said. “I was driving it well the whole day. That gave me lots of chances. And the putter was going well. I just spoke to my coach last week. He said everything is there. Everything with my game feels better than a year ago.”

“You. Are. Kidding.”

Bezuidenhout with a slam dunk chip-in ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/RINeZeJKpD

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 9, 2021

Just as chuffed with his performance was Aphibarnrat. Nearing the end of a year that has contained a lot more missed cuts than top tens, the 32-year old Thai showed glimpses of the form that took him as high as 36th in the world rankings at the end of 2018 (he is now 516th). More than glimpses actually, especially on the back nine where he made seven of his eight birdies. He finished with a flourish, too. A 20-foot putt for par disappeared into the cup on the par-5 18th, making up for the two shots he had earlier expended in a fairway bunker.

“I’m just trying to get that (bad form) off my head,” he said. “I had a really hard time last two years playing with injury, hurting my right knee after the Masters. Then when the COVID was hit, I have to go back to my country. Was stuck there for eight months and couldn’t play much golf. When I came back out, I just couldn’t get the rhythm to play a golf tournament. I get nerves to go on the first tee, I don’t know how to move the ball. I didn’t feel comfortable on the golf course at all. After I get my PGA Tour card back, it just loosened me up. I feel free to play my own game. I feel more comfortable on the golf course.”

Andrew Redington

Still, of the two, Bezuidenhout’s 64 was superior, compiled as it was in the more difficult afternoon conditions. So the last word — something of a farewell — must go to the South African.

“It was just a matter of time for me to go over to the States,” he said. “It has always been my aim to play over there. I’ll still support the European Tour. I love playing here. But my main focus will be on the States.”

But not on the Korn Ferry Tour. Not any more.

The post How recent success across the Atlantic unites the two BMW PGA Championship leaders appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we’ve learned a lot during our eighth(!) year of doing this. You can go from not being able to break 80 to winning the Masters. You can drink as many proteins shakes as you want without risking harm to your organs (Actually, we’re not sure about that one yet). And you can’t touch Tiger Woods’ coffee:

Who's stealing a cup of this coffee? ?

Stay tuned for more with @TigerWoods coming soon. pic.twitter.com/ergZwHz6v5

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 3, 2020

Oh yeah, we also found out global pandemics are no joke. But hopefully, we were able to at least share a few laughs through all the weird and tough times. So thanks as always for reading, and grab a cup of joe as we take one final spin in 2020. Just not Tiger’s cup of Joe.

WE’RE BUYING

Viktor Hovland: Not only did the 23-year-old win his second PGA Tour title, he broke the “Curse of Coco Beach” by becoming the first golfer to win another tournament after winning the Puerto Rico Open. And, of course, this engaging young star was well aware of that fact.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Viktor Hovland (@viktor_hovland)

Hang in there, Tony Finau. There’s still hope for you! Plus, when Hovland wins, we get to hear these Norwegian announcers go nuts!

The Norwegian call of Viktor Hovland's winning putt @MayakobaGolf is EVERYTHING. ??? pic.twitter.com/CObVto6YYk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 7, 2020

“YES! He makes it—again! Our boy! Look how ice cold he is!” Absolutely electric stuff, just like when Viktor won for the first time in February. Apparently in Norway they don’t abide by the whole “there’s no cheering from the pressbox” motto. Hey, we’re not complaining.

The Class of 2019: About 18 months ago all three (Hovland, Collin Morikawa, and Matthew Wolff) were still in college and now they all find themselves in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking. And it’s not just the six PGA Tour wins between the bunch that have gotten them there. Morikawa already has a major, Wolff finished top five at his first two majors, and Hovland holds the tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s. These (young) guys are good.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: But don’t forget about the Class of 2015! BEZ! Two weeks in a row! Man, this South African is absolutely cooking right now after some serious home cooking the past two weeks on the European Tour, claiming the South African Open after the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native land.

Richard Heathcote

Our new favourite player—if you didn’t see the giant wine glass he was drinking from last week, check it out—showed he can rally after a big celebration too. Impressive stuff. He’s got an even bigger event on tap this week as the Race to Dubai wraps up:

Probably a smart move to stick to normal-sized glasses with so much at stake.

WE’RE SELLING

Peter Alliss passing away: Sadly, 2020 has claimed another. Since as far back as I can remember, my favourite part of waking up early and watching the Open Championship was when Alliss would join the American telecast for a bit. Man, was he cheeky in the booth. Like Johnny Miller, Alliss is a Hall-of-Famer on two fronts, with a lot of younger fans not realizing how great of a player he was with 31 professional wins and eight Ryder Cup appearances. I encourage you to read the fantastic pieces by our own John Huggan and John Feinstein. And here’s a touching tribute from the European Tour:

Peter Alliss – A Tribute ?

The voice of The Open ? pic.twitter.com/wc1uc0hOeg

— The Open (@TheOpen) December 7, 2020

REWIND: Golf Digest Middle East’s 2014 conversation with the ‘voice of golf’

Also, anyone would get a kick out of Alliss calling Jean van de Velde’s 72nd hole collapse at the 1999 Open Championship. Even Jean himself:

RIP to a true legend.

Putting like Happy Gilmore: We’d love to hear Peter Alliss’ take on what Joel Dahmen began doing late in the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic:

2020 Mayakoba Rd. 3.
No quote today, but a story instead:
Before the round, Joel was messing around putting like Happy Gilmore. Split handed-right hand way down the grip. He was making EVERYTHING! He told me he was going to bust it out during the round. Did it on 17 and here: pic.twitter.com/ngWeiII3OE

— Geno Bonnalie (@GenoBonnalie) December 5, 2020

Then after continuing to use the unique method on Sunday, Dahmen felt confident to lobby U.S. captain Steve Stricker for a spot on the American Ryder Cup team.

Here's some more evidence @stevestricker! #RyderCupBound pic.twitter.com/uBgILAqMdS

— Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) December 6, 2020

As always with Dahmen, who at another recent tournament channelled Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator” character, we are entertained. But good luck with that, Joel. We haven’t seen Adam Sandler tearing up the celebrity golf circuit.

Getting a job at MJ’s new course: If you’re looking for a gig driving around a beverage cart at Michael Jordan’s The Grove XXIII, don’t bother sending your resume. That’s because the new ultra-exclusive course is using drones instead:

Michael Jordan's new course, The Grove XXIII, delivers drinks by drone. ?

Learn more about the NBA superstar's exclusive club: https://t.co/iFXqdGGwtF
(?:Instagram/@Chadilac_FSU) pic.twitter.com/N6SPUhaXNk

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 7, 2020

What a world.

ON TAP

With the PGA Tour officially heading into the off-season, the LPGA and European Tour take centre stage. The U.S. Women’s Open is being held in Houston and the DP World Championship, the conclusion of the season-long Race to Dubai is in, you guessed it, Dubai.

Random tournament fact: Lexi Thompson will be using Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie, Tim Tucker, this week. If anyone needed an off-season, you’d think it would be Tim, but that’s a tough bag to turn down. And we’re pretty sure he’d make history by becoming the first person to win two U.S. Opens in the same year.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Tim Tucker will spend as much time as usual deliberating shots this week: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Joel Dahmen will make the 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team: 10-to-1 odds
—If Joel were European, he’d not only make Team Europe but go 4-0-1 against Team USA: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

This beach wedding stole the show during the second round of the Mayakoba:

nothing screams "final event of the year" like the PGA Tour broadcast repeatedly cutting to a half-dozen people setting up for a wedding, which will apparently be taking place on this beach volleyball court pic.twitter.com/sv912MUZFD

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) December 4, 2020

Genius move to save money on a photographer/videographer. I could have probably joined Michael Jordan’s golf club for the amount I spent on ours.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbTTb8peju/?utm_source=ig_embed

We’ve all been there, but that’s rough. Even Mike Davis thinks that’s an unfair pin position.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know if I could say that without getting fined.” —Brooks Koepka when asked to describe a disappointing year. And that was before he missed the cut in Mexico. Rough.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Angela Stanford for winning a seventh career LPGA title, but a first in front of her parents. Talk about coming through under pressure. . . . According to the National Golf Foundation, there will be an increase of 50 million rounds of golf played in this country compared to last year. The last time there was a bigger increase was 1997, when Tiger Woods won his landmark first Masters. . . . Speaking of Tiger Woods, his World Golf Hall of Fame induction has been postponed until 2022. The good news is he’ll have more time to work on his speech. . . . Jason Day said he kept his ATM receipt for a couple months the first time he made a withdrawal after his first PGA Tour win. Hope he saved some of that money because now he’s about to have a fourth kid. . . .And, finally, speaking of kids, I put together this bookshelf for my daughter all by myself:

If Rory McIlroy or any of the other new PGA Tour dads need help with this stuff, let me know. Kidding. I’m miserable at it and you’d have to pay me. A lot.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will I spend more on college tuition or Pottery Barn furniture?
Can 2020 please just be over already?

The post Viktor Hovland breaks a curse and a PGA Tour pro channels Happy Gilmore appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
The way things are going, the world of golf is going to have to get used to spelling Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Seven days on from winning last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, the 26-year-old South African added his national title to an already burgeoning resume with victory in the South African Open at Sun City. In what was the 110th playing of golf’s second-oldest championship, Bezuidenhout strolled home, his 18-under-par 270, a comfortable five shots clear of runner-up Jamie Donaldson. Another South African, the increasingly impressive Dylan Frittelli, was third, two shots further away from the new champion.

There were few moments of real anxiety for Bezuidenhout, but his closing 69 wasn’t quite devoid of stress. The 18-foot putt he holed for bogey on the par-4 eighth on the Gary Player County Club, after his approach had found the water fronting the putting surface, was clearly a vital thrust. Having started five shots ahead of Donaldson, Bezuidenhout had already seen his lead shrink by one before what he later acknowledged was the turning point of his day.

The same could be said of the trio of birdies with which he welcomed the back nine, a run that restored his original edge and afforded him the luxury of a wobble on the penultimate hole. A fortunate ricochet off a cart path saved his errant drive from almost certain oblivion in the African bush. But there were shots to spare as pars on the closing two holes clinched the victory for the now three-time winner on the European Tour.

“It’s unbelievable to stand here with an Open win,” said Bezuidenhout, who earned €160,889 and moved to fifth on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai points list, the year-long competition wrapping up at next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. “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. The birdies at 10, 11 and 12 were massive. I have to say, the second putt on 11 was huge and obviously the putt on 12 was a bonus, I just tried to get it close inside a couple of feet and made it. I knew I had to make pars coming in, and I did it. I’m really, really chuffed to stand here as a winner.”

Warren Little
After a comeback win a week ago, Christian Bezuidenhout claimed his second straight European Tour title in a runaway on Sunday at the South African Open.

There was pleasure, too, for Donaldson. Plagued by injury over the last couple of years, this was the 45-year-old’s highest finish on the European Tour since he won the 2014 Czech Masters. But this return to something approaching former glories wasn’t a complete surprise. A tie for third at the recent Cyprus Open hinted at better things to come for the Welshman, whose 4-and-3 victory over former PGA champion Keegan Bradley at the 2014 Ryder Cup clinched victory for the European side.

The post Back-to-back wins are changing the career path of this Euro Tour pro with the unusual last name appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Often enough, the winning of golf tournaments at the professional level is more about the elimination of serious error than the making of plentiful birdies and eagles. An eventful Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek turned out to be one of those times. While those around him floundered amidst a flurry of bogeys, doubles and triples over the closing nine holes, the only member of the top-five finishers making steady progress was eventual champion Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The combination of some evil pin positions and an ever-freshening breeze proved to be too much test for the rest.

Bezuidenhout’s bogey-free back-nine 34, three under par over the picturesque lay-out that sits across the Crocodile River from the stunning array of African animals populating the Kruger National Park, was at least three shots better than anyone else in that top five. And that steadiness under pressure proved to be the key to the 26-year-old South African’s second European Tour victory. His beautifully constructed closing 69 took him to 14-under-par 274 for the week, four shots better than the four runners-up, Jayden Schaper, Adrian Meronk, Richard Bland and Sean Crocker.

RELATED: Christiaan Bezuidenhout was once banned from amateur golf. Now he’s a two-time European Tour winner

“This is incredible,” said Bezuidenhout, who suffers from a stutter resulting from his ingestion of rat poison as a 2-year-old. “This tournament has been close to my heart ever since I played here for the first time. It is one I have always wanted to win. So to pull it off is very special to me, especially on a such a difficult day. That was a two-and-a-half club wind out there. It swirled a lot and led to my double bogey on the seventh. I actually hit a decent shot, but it just drifted way right on the breeze. But I’m proud of myself. It was all about sticking in there today.”

Still, making his Masters debut two weeks earlier, where he finished T-38, also turned out to have some lasting benefits.

“I had a plan this week,” Bezuidenhout revealed. “I played a practice round with Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel at Augusta National. They told me to play the course as I would have done with the previous grass on it. I thought of it that way and played it as if it was firm and fast all week, which is how it was here today. I’m really pleased to have pulled it off.”

In contrast to the winner’s obvious excitement at triumphing in his homeland, there were obvious moments of regret for all of the second-place finishers.

Some examples:

• Standing on the 18th tee at 13 under par and one stroke back, Crocker badly pulled his tee shot on the 552-yard par 5, the ball rebounding out-of-bounds off the roof of a cart path. It all added up to a triple-bogey 8 for the Zimbabwe-born former USC All-American.

• Leading with nine holes to play, Schaper—widely viewed as the next star of South African golf—hit three balls off the 10th tee. Although he found the first one unplayable, the 19-year-old could do no better than a triple-bogey 7. Eight holes later, another drive flew OB off the 18th tee, the eventual bogey costing Schaper the chance to finish alone in second.

Warren Little
With his runner-up showing, Jayden Schaper, a 19-year-old South African, had the best finish of his nascent European Tour career.

• Long-time leader Adrian Meronk’s quest to become the first Pole to win on the European Tour came to an end with a 6-6 run (bogey, double bogey) on the 13th and 14th. That he found water again on the final hole cost him, like Schaper, second place on his own.

• Bland was the steadiest of the four runners-up, playing the back nine in level par. But the experienced Englishman, winless in 468 European Tour starts, wasn’t quite mistake-free. The 47-year-old’s lost ball off the 15th tee led to a scrambled bogey on the 580-yard par 5.

Such catastrophic events weren’t all down to the pressure that comes with contention either. Far down the leader board, Englishman Eddie Pepperell’s closing 81 contained a back-nine of 47 marked by a pair of triple bogeys, one double and two other dropped shots. At least for one day, the Crocodile River separated not only golf course from national park, but wildlife from wild shots.

The post European Tour pro with harrowing backstory pulls out impressive win in home country appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the November edition of Golf Digest Middle East. On Sunday, Bezuidenthout rallied to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa, his second career win on the European Tour.

CHRISTIAAN BEZUIDENHOUT (PRONOUNCED BA-ZADE-NOTE)
EUROPEAN TOUR
AGE: 26
LIVES: DELMAS / SOUTH AFRICA

I was 2 years old when it happened. My memory doesn’t go back that far, but I’m told I was in the grocery store with my parents, and there was a soda bottle on the ground. I picked it up and drank from it. It wasn’t soda, it was rat poison. When my parents turned around, I was already unconscious on the ground. They rushed me to the hospital, and I spent weeks in the ICU. The doctors said I almost died. That rat poison affected my whole nervous system. Ever since, I’ve had a stutter.

The stutter made things at school hard. I didn’t like to speak. I didn’t want to get made fun of. It was also a challenge with golf. I started swinging a club when I was 4 and playing tournaments when I was 8. At tournaments, you have to talk to people. And if you won, you had to speak in front of everyone. In those situations, I’d tense up, hit a blank and not be able to get words out. The anxiety it created was awful. My doctor put me on beta-blockers to help keep me calm in situations like that, and it helped. But it derailed my golf career.

At the 2014 British Amateur, I took a drug test, and they found a substance in the medication that was banned for golf. We obviously didn’t know it was illegal. I had been using the medication for 10-plus years and had no idea. I got banned for two years from all competitive golf. It was a shock. I was hurt and confused. I’d stayed amateur that year just to play for the Eisenhower Trophy for South Africa. I worked my entire amateur career for that tournament, and then I couldn’t play it.

I was heartbroken. I took a couple of weeks off to reflect on what happened, to try to sort it out with the national team and clear my name. That was the worst part, being treated like I was a cheater when I didn’t even know what I did was against the rules. Luckily I had the right people on my side, we got my name cleared and my ban shortened to nine months. I was 21 years old, and I turned professional. I gave my game my full attention, did a lot of short-game work, kept my play sharp. I knew I would return. When I came back to competitive golf, I wanted to be ready to try to dominate. My first event back was an event on the Big Easy Tour, a mini-tour in South Africa. I won by five.

That winter I got my card for the Sunshine Tour, a developmental tour in South Africa. I also played some Challenge Tour events in 2016. That’s where I hit a tough patch. I was there for seven months, travelling alone, week after week, driving to tournaments in the middle of Europe. I didn’t know the places, the people, the language, the golf courses. I was staying in some pretty average hotels. I made like one out of nine cuts. I spoke to my management company and told them: “I need to go home. I’m losing my game here. I’m in a bad frame of mind. I need to go back home, reset, work with my coach, see my family, get myself back.”

Two months later I went to qualifying school and got my European Tour card. Looking back now, it was a great decision to leave in the middle of the season. Even though there were 10 tournaments left, I know when I have to listen to my body and mind, when to keep going, when to stop.

I kept my card after that first season on the European Tour and got my first win in 2019. I was playing in the Andalucia Masters in Spain and had a five-shot lead over Jon Rahm when we started the final round, playing together. I was leading by seven at one point, and five holes later I had a two-shot lead. I remember feeling the momentum shift toward him, and then after I made a big putt to maintain the two-shot lead, I felt it move back to me. It didn’t shift again after that putt. To win your first European Tour title under that kind of pressure, against one of the best players in the world, in his home country, was a huge boost to my confidence.

Ben Walton

When it happens, it happens fast. A few good tournaments on the European Tour, and your World Ranking shoots up. I’m still just a member of the European Tour, but I’m getting starts at PGA Tour events and an invitation to the 2020 Masters. These dreams I’ve had my whole life—big, difficult dreams—are coming true faster than I ever imagined.

The build-up and the hype for PGA Tour events, the way the tournaments are run, the courses, it’s a different environment from the European Tour. I love the States. I would really like to play here and base myself here. I’m not playing as well as I know I can. My game is just starting to feel right again after the lockdown ended. I was home in South Africa for three months after the Players. I live on a golf course and couldn’t use any of the facilities. I’m happy to be back in Florida playing again.

I haven’t taken the beta-blocker medication since that drug test result back in 2014, and honestly, I don’t feel a difference in myself. Speaking to reporters and things like that with my stutter don’t bother me like they used to. I can finally function without it. —WITH KEELY LEVINS

This article first appeared in the November issue of Golf Digest Middle East. Read the entire issue here.

The post Christiaan Bezuidenhout was once banned from amateur golf. Now he’s a two-time European Tour winner appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Say it with me: “Buh – zay – din – hote.” If golf is going to be the only sport on television this weekend, it’s a pronunciation you’re going to want to become familiar with.

The actual spelling is Bezuidenhout, as in South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who shot a first-round 65 in his first-ever round of the Players Championship on Thursday. Impressive stuff. Even more impressive is the story of how the 25-year-old got to this point.

In a player blog posted to the European Tour’s website last March, Bezuidenhout revealed the harrowing tale of the time he inadvertently drank rat poison as a baby. “I was two and a half years old and I was playing outside when I picked up a random Coke bottle,” he wrote. “I took a drink of it thinking it was indeed Coke, however it actually contained rat poison. It was a moment which would change my life forever.”

Bezuidenhout was rushed to the hospital, where doctors pumped his stomach. He survived, but the poison spread throughout his nervous system. He is still affected by the incident 23 years later–most noticeably in the way he stutters when he speaks.

“It’s just my stuttering, it just affects my speaking and stuff, nothing else really,” Bezuidenhout said following his bogey-free first round. “On the course everything’s fine, all my nerves and stuff, and control.”

It wasn’t always that way. His stutter led to him developing severe cases of anxiety and depression. At the age of 14, a doctor prescribed him medicine to treat those issues. He didn’t know it at the time, but that would only lead to more issues in the not-so-distant future.

In 2014, Bezuidenhout was randomly selected to take a drug test following the first round of the British Amateur at Royal Portrush. The medication to treat his anxiety contained beta blockers, causing him to fail the test. He was given a two-year suspension that was later reduced to nine months.

“It felt like my life was over,” he wrote in the blog.

Bezuidenhout was able to pick himself up, winning the Sunshine Tour’s Sun Fish River Challenge in 2016 and eventually capturing Rookie of the Year on the Sunshine. That earned him membership on the European circuit, which he’s made the most of in the past 12 months.

At the 2019 Oman Open last March, Bezuidenhout was 576th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s currently 48th on the strength of seven top-10 finishes on the European Tour, including a victory at the Andalucía Masters last June.

His standing in the OWGR earned him a spot in the Players Championship field, marking his fifth start on the PGA Tour. Last week, Bezuidenhout flashed on the leader board on Thursday and Friday at Bay Hill, eventually finishing in a tie for 18th. This week, he’s two strokes back of Hideki Matsuyama, who shot a course-record-tying 63 on Thursday.

With everything he’s been through, the 17th tee at Sawgrass should hardly register on the “nerves” scale. But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling some.

“I was pretty nervous, in between clubs there. It’s never good to hit half shot there, you want to just go straight to the tee and commit to a full shot. Great to walk off there with a three. Hopefully I can do the same over the next couple of days.”

More of the same from Thursday should keep Bezuidenhout in the mix on the weekend, which will get him one step closer to a trip to the Masters. To get in, he needs to do is be inside of the top 50 of the OWGR on March 30.

“Yeah, it’s obviously in the back of my mind,” he said. “But it’s a goal for me starting the year off to finish the end of the season in the top 50 in the world to qualify for next year’s Masters, so if I do it now it’s obviously a bonus, and I’ll obviously try and keep on playing well to give myself that opportunity to be there.”

If and when he gets into the Masters field, he’ll certainly be a name to watch in the season’s first major. Just make sure you know how to pronounce it first.

The post Rat poison, anxiety and failed drug test haven’t stopped young South African appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Lucas Herbert emerged from a wild final round at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday to claim his maiden European Tour title and celebrate Australia Day in style.

The 24-year-old Victorian was the last man standing after a dramatic final day of brutal winds and blown out scores at Emirates Golf Club, beating South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout with a two-putt birdie at the second extra hole of just the sixth playoff in the Desert Classic’s 31-year history.

He becomes the second Australian to win the Dallah trophy, 23 years after left-hander Richard Green beat countryman Greg Norman and Welshman Ian Woosnam in the tournament’s third playoff. They’ll be cheering 7200 miles away in Herbert’s native Bendigo, as will the world No. 223’s accountant after the young Aussie’s $541,660 windfall.

Herbert and Bezuidenhout both started the final round six strokes adrift of 54-hole leader Ashun Wu but more crucially 70 and 80 minutes respectively ahead of the Chinese pacesetter. It meant less time battling the worst of Sunday afternoon’s brutal weather as gusty winds and even rain lashed the Majlis and saw just 14 of the 71 players return scores under par.

Matching 68s got them to -9 for the championship and one by one Victor Perez, Kurt Kitayama, Wu, defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and finally Tom Lewis faded in the turbulence, Lewis’ 74 the best of the vanquished five.

While Herbert traded two bogeys with six birdies in his 68, Bezuidenhout went blemish-free until the 72nd when he inexplicably dumped his third shot into the water fronting the par-5. A par would have given the big South African a second European Tour title but a gritty bogey putt at least gave him a chance in overtime.

Herbert looked as though he’d thrown away any chance of the Dallah in the first hole of the playoff when he sent his second shot into the water with a wild slice. But he conjured a par with a tremendous wedge from the drop zone after Bezuidenhout sent his birdie attempt rolling past.

Herbert made no mistake at the second time of asking, a gutsy-drive and iron approach from 189 yards setting up a two-putt birdie for victory as Bezuidenhout was forced to settle for a par after failing to get up and down from a drop-zone beyond the green.

It was a dramatic end to an exhausting day as the conditions allowed the Major of the Middle East to truly live up to its marketing moniker.

Wu needed only a one-over 73 to hold onto his overnight lead and a 74 to make it into the playoff and started well enough, going out in even par. But a double-bogey on the 10th, after tree trouble, started his slide as he dropped three more shots in the next five holes.

Like so many in the gusty wind, the Chinese 34-year-old struggled to get critical putts to the hole and when he did, watched them cruelly lip out to eventually sign for a 77 and finish T-6.

The Chinese player’s final group partner Victor Perez, just a shot back through 54 holes, never recovered from a bogey-bogey start while Kurt Kitayama, two back to start the day, got it to -10 early but never really threatened, a chip-in at 17 his highlight in a 75.

DeChambeau had a share of the lead when he birdied the 13th to get back to even par for the day and -9 for the championship, where he had started the final round. The American safely negotiated the 14th but thereafter started to unravel, four successive bogeys ended his admirable title defence.

It started with a tee shot lost way right on the par-3 15th, before a tee shot left on 16 and an approach left in similarly uninhabitable rough left him short-sided. It was then curtains on the penultimate hole as his pushed drive was followed by an undercooked flop shot, a flubbed second that made it only as far as the apron and a pulled putt.

Needing a miraculous albatross to force a play-off on the last, the Mad Scientist had a go with a metal wood from yet more deep rough but didn’t stand a chance, his second going for a swim well short of the 18th green. DeChambeau finally signed for a 76 to finish T-8 with Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera (71) and Scot Bob MacIntyre (72), the latter thrilled with a top-10 after being a touch and go starter this week with a hand injury.

Tom Lewis, starting two back, had the last chance to sneak into overtime but was left to rue a pushed birdie putt on the 17th that would have got him to -8 and needing a birdie down the last to get into the playoff. As it was, the Englishman reached the deciding par-5 in two with an iron, but gave his necessary eagle putt way to much borrow and not enough oomph and ended up three-putting for par and a final round 74.

In the end none of the last 13 players out could better par with MacIntyre in the seventh to last group the latest of the starters to achieve that.

One of the major benefactors of an early start was Dubai-domiciled Adri Arnaus, the Spaniard, playing with Lucas, carding a 70 to climb 10 spots to a share of 3rd. It was some score when you consider six players scored more than 80, the highest of them an 83 from former Emirates Golf Club champion Sebastian Heisele (Germany).

31st OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic – Final Top-10 scores:

1. HERBERT, Lucas (AUS) -9*
2. BEZUIDENHOUT, Christiaan (RSA) -9
3. Arnaus, Adri (ESP) -7
3. BURMESTER, Dean (RSA) – 7
3. LEWIS, Tom (ENG) -7
6. KITAYAMA, Kurt (USA) -6
6. WU, Ashun (CHN) – 6
8. LORENZO-VERA (FRA) – 5
8. MacINTYRE, Robert (SCO) – 5
8. DECHAMBEAU, Bryson (USA) – 5

* Herbert won in a playoff at the second extra hole

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