The $3.4 million Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters looks like it will come down to a fight between Rambo and heavyweight champion in waiting Jon Rahm. The Spaniard obviously won’t come out of his corner to fight Sylvester Stallone, but Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Bezuidenhout has been nicknamed “Rambo” since he was a child because Sylvester Stallone is his favourite actor.
The 25-year-old South African has certainly punched above his weight over the first three rounds around 1997 Ryder Cup course Valderrama. He added a third-round, 2-under 69 to opening rounds of 66 and 68. He stands on 10 under and holds a five-shot lead over Rahm and Japan’s Hideto Tanihara.
Rahm got into the mix with a 4-under 67. Tanihara bogeyed the final hole in a 3-under 68. Belgians Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Detry share fourth place on 3-under. Tournament host Sergio Garcia is in a nine-way tie for sixth on 2-under after faltering with a 2-over 73. Thomas Bjorn also shares sixth place after matching Rahm’s 67.
LEADERBOARD: Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
For the second day in a row, Bezuidenhout only dropped one shot in his round, a bogey at the 14th. He’s chasing his first European Tour victory in only his second full season on the European Tour after coming through the 2017 Qualifying School. Another good round would punctuate an already good season. Bezuidenhout finished T3 in last week’s BMW International Open, was equal second in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and T4 in the Hero Indian Open. He currently stands 46th on the race to Dubai.
“Going into Sunday with a five shot lead is definitely nice,” Bezuidenhout said. “I’ll just keep playing my game and see how I finish up tomorrow.
“Rahm is a great player, he’s top 15 (11th) 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.
“It wasn’t my best ball striking today. I made some great saves on the turn through seven to nine, I got all three up-and-down there which kept the momentum going.
“I birdied ten which settled it for me a little bit and I made another great save on 11. The score that I shot I’m really pleased with.”
Rahm recorded just one bogey on his card, at the 15th, to go with five birdies. He’s looking for his fourth European Tour win and his second on home soil after last year’s Spanish Open.
Bjorn thought he’d missed the cut after shooting a second-round 73. He can earn a spot into the Open Championship with another good round. The top three players inside the top 10 not already exempt into the Open Championship earn places at Royal Portrush. Only Rahm and Garcia are exempt of those at T9 or better.
