Van Tonder wins SA Open, Bezuidenhout locks up Masters spot

SUN CITY, South Africa (AP) — Daniel van Tonder won the SA Open on Sunday as fellow South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout secured a sixth-place finish to lock up a year-ending position in the world's top 50 and a spot at next year's Masters.

Van Tonder shot a 7-under 65 — for the lowest score of the final round — to win by one shot from Oliver Bekker (66) and finish on 16 under overall at Gary Player Country Club.

Bezuidenhout shot 67 and was in a tie for sixth. He is set to finish the year ranked No. 48 and will be playing at Augusta National in April.

South Africans made up the vast majority of the field after the country was placed on the travel red list of several countries following concerns regarding the new COVID-19 variant.

That meant the tournament dropped off the DP World Tour schedule and went ahead as a solely Sunshine Tour event.

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