The European Tour monopolized the spotlight this weekend, with two events on two ends of a transcontinental region known as Afro-Eurasia. At the southern tip, the South African Open took place at Gary Player country club. Farther to the northwest, in Dubai, the eponymous Dubai Championship was held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Fire course. Around the world, in North America, two more events took place. The LPGA played its run-up-to-the-Open event in Texas, while the PGA Tour journeyed to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula for the final, official event of calendar year 2020. With year-end holidays around the corner, golf takes a hiatus for a few weeks, before resuming full-speed in January.

Welcome to the final Tour Rundown of 2020, and thanks for following along.

Bezuidenhout ends year with a double

Christiaan Bezuidenhout has found his form, there is no doubt. Last week, the South African pro won at the Dunhill, and this week, he followed up with a five-shot margin of victory over Welshman Jamie Donaldson. After a stumble early in his professional career, the 26-year old has started to fulfill the promise that many predicted during his amateur days.

Bezuidenhout and Donaldson were tied for first after 36 holes. The Afrikaaner had arrived with a pair of 67s, while Donaldson followed an opening 71 with a dazzling 63 (ten birdies and one bogey.) It was Bezuidenhout’s consistency that won day three (and ultimately, the week.) While Donaldson regressed to a 72, a third consecutive 67 would find its way to Bezuidenhout’s scorecard.

Donaldson made up four shots on Sunday’s opening nine, but Bezuidenhout was resolute on the inward half. With his margin trimmed, the three-time Euro Tour winner shot a clean 32 coming home, thanks to four birdies, to reestablish his comfortable cushion. After a few lean years, Donaldson has enjoyed a resurgent run in 2020, capped by this podium finish.

Rozner emerges from curtain to claim inaugural title

For all the week, it looked like Andy Sullivan’s tournament. For all the week, no one outside of Kansas City and Paris had a blip called Antoine Rozner on their radar. Yet, here we are, wondering how Sullivan’s birdie caravan (25 on the week, plus one eagle) wasn’t enough to secure the title. Even more indescribable is how the Parisian pulled a rabbit out of a hat and tossed a Sunday 64, for a two-shot win over Mike Lorenzo-Vera (who sound Italian, but isn’t) and Francesco Laporta (who also sounds Italian, and is.)

Here’s the 120-second breakdown: Rozner opened with a 63, that few noticed. He was only two back of Sully’s magical 61 after day one. Rozner had 69 on day two, lost ground, but had 67 on day three to actually win a shot back. On day four, Rozner was five-deep through 12, then made his second eagle of the week at the 13th, to take control. On 14, he did what all winless golfers do: he made bogey. Then, like all golfers who finally break through do, he made birdie at 15 and 18 to reach 25-under par on the week.

Meanwhile, Sully and the Englishmen (Matt Wallace and Ross Fisher included) were doing the very thing that they need not attempt: play safe, or, not go low enough. They were 70, 68, and 70, respectively, on day four. Those are wondrous scores for a major or a high-tier event, but at Dubai, where birdies win the day, not so much. By the way, if you wondered about the Kansas City and Paris references earlier, Rozner grew up in the City of Lights, and attended college at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he played a little golf.

The European Tour remains in Dubai for the Race To Dubai championship, to be contested on the Jumeirah Estates’ Earth course.

LPGA Volunteers of America event goes to Stanford

You could tell that this was no ordinary Texas tournament. Scores were high, and players had to grind for every possible, saved stroke. In fact, the VOA played precisely how a run-up event to a major should play. If the Jackrabbit and Cypress Creek courses at Champions Golf Club in Houston measure up to the standard set at The Colony, the world’s greatest female golfers will be in for a second straight week of endurance and grit.

Endurance and grit are Angela Stanford’s middle names. The 43-year old, with one major title to her name, played a game with which her competitors were not familiar on Sunday. Stanford counted seven birdies among her 18 holes, and left the field behind in the Texas dust. True, her margin of victory was just two strokes So Yeon Ryu, Inbee Park, and Yealimi Noh, but it might have felt like ten. It actually took a closing bogey from Stanford, and closing birdies from two of the three runners-up, to make the margin as narrow as it was.

Back in 2003, Stanford and Kelly Robbins lost an 18-hole playoff to Hillary Lunke for the US Women’s Open title. That one-shot loss, after playing 72 holes dead even, might just get repaid next week. After all, there’s nothing that a Fort Worth pro likes more than a quick jaunt over to Houston for a US Open championship.

PGA at Mayakoba is Hovland’s second tour title

Viktor Hovland is certainly at home where Spanish is spoken, despite growing up in the decidedly-nonHispanic country of Norway. Barely 10 months removed from his first tour win in Puerto Rico, Hovland chased down Emilian Grillo, held off Aaron Wise, and won in Mexico for victory la segunda. Hovland piled 16 birdies over two bogeys on the weekend, moving from 6-under to 20-deep in the process. Grillo, who led from his Friday 63 until part way through the fourth round, could not find second gear on Sunday. His three bogey-two birdie performance dropped him from 1st to a tie for 8th.

For most of the final day, the story being written came from the pen of Aaron Wise. The former Oregon Duck is two years removed from his lone tour title, at the Byron Nelson in 2018. Three birdies and an eagle stood him at five-under through seven, then three successive birdies at 13 through 15 elevated him to 19 below par. Finishing two groups ahead of Hovland, Wise could not secure one last birdie to reach the winning score.

Golf aficionados also got a first glimpse at yet another future Stillwater star. Austin Eckroat, a senior at Oklahoma State and former roommate of Hovland, posted 14-under par to secure a tie for 12th. When the professional ranks beckon in 2021, Eckroat will be ready.