It won’t be enough to get him into the Masters, but Christiaan Bezuidenhout closed with a one-under-par 71 on Sunday to finish in a share of 25th in the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas.
Bezuidenhout made four birdies and three bogeys in the final round to finish on four-under-par for the tournament. Like everyone else in the field, he was a long way off the winning total of 20-under-par.
Akshay Bhatia and Denny McCarthy of the United States finished all locked up after regulation play, nine strokes clear of Rory McIlroy who finished third on 11-under. McCarthy made nine birdies, including eight on his homeward nine, for a 63 to haul in Bhatia and force a play-off after the 22-year-old left-handed Bhatia carded a closing 67. McCarthy dunked his pitch in the par-five 18th into the water in the play-off to give Bhatia an easy play-off victory on the first extra hole.
Bezuidenhout is projected to stay in 17th place in the FedExCup rankings, while Garrick Higgo should climb six places to 123rd after he closed with a three-under-par 69 to reach three-under for the tournament and a share of 33rd.
Erik van Rooyen missed the cut, so he was able to head off to Augusta National for some early prep work for the Masters.
