If Jon Rahm is going to win the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters, he’s going to have to track down Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who holds a big lead entering Sunday at Valderrama Club.
Bezuidenhout, a 25-year-old South African searching for his first European Tour victory, is ahead by five shots after firing a 2-under 69 in Saturday’s third round. He carded just three birdies but for the second straight day notched only one bogey, as he consistently managed to get up and down, including four times in a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round.
Now, he’ll have to fend off Rahm, the world’s 11th-ranked player who is coming off a T-3 showing at the U.S. Open yet hasn’t won this year.
“Going into Sunday with a five shot lead is definitely nice,” said Bezuidenhout, who has twice finished runner-up in his European Tour career and tied for third at last week’s BMW International Open. “I’ll just keep playing my game and see how I finish up tomorrow. Rahm is a great player, he’s top 15 in the world and he’s a legend in Spain, so it will be quite an experience tomorrow. I haven’t played with him yet, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Full-field scores from the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
Rahm posted a third-round 67 that included five birdies, among them back-to-back circles to cap his day. Rahm is tied for second at 5 under with Japan’s Hideto Tanihara.
Bezuidenhout, Tanihara and Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who is tied with countryman Nicolas Colsearts at 3 under, are currently in position to punch their tickets to The Open. The top three players not already exempt who finish in the top 10 will earn Open invites.