Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ([ˈkrɪstiˌjaːn bəˈzœidənˌɦəut]; born 18 May 1994) is a South African professional golfer who is a three-time winner on the European Tour. He won the 2019 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, the 2020 Alfred Dunhill Championship and the 2020 South African Open.
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | 18 May 1994 Delmas, Mpumalanga, South Africa | ||||
| Nationality |  South Africa | ||||
| Residence | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||
| Career | |||||
| Turned professional | 2015 | ||||
| Current tour(s) | European Tour Sunshine Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 7 | ||||
| Highest ranking | 33 (31 January 2021)[1] (as of 31 January 2021) | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| European Tour | 3 | ||||
| Sunshine Tour | 4 | ||||
| Challenge Tour | 1 | ||||
| Other | 2 | ||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||
| Masters Tournament | T38: 2020 | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT: 2020 | ||||
| U.S. Open | 55th: 2020 | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2019 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
Amateur career
As an amateur, Bezuidenhout received a drug suspension after testing positive for beta blockers at the 2014 Amateur Championship. Bezuidenhout was using them for anxiety and a stutter after an accidental poisoning at the age of two. The suspension was originally for two years, but was later reduced to nine months.[2]
Professional career
Bezuidenhout turned professional in early 2015.[3] He had success in September 2015 winning two 36-hole events on the Big Easy Tour, losing in a playoff for the Big Easy Tour Championship and also winning the Order of Merit.
In December 2015, Bezuidenhout won the Sunshine Tour Q School. In the first event of the season, the 2016 BMW SA Open, co-sanctioned with the European Tour, he finished runner-up to Brandon Stone.[4] Later in 2016, he won a smaller tournament on the Sunshine Tour, the Sun Fish River Challenge, and finished runner-up in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final. Bezuidenhout started 2017 with 5th-place finishes in both the Eye of Africa PGA Championship and the Dimension Data Pro-Am. He was the 2016–17 Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year, awarded the Bobby Locke Trophy.[5]
Bezuidenhout played a number of 2017 Challenge Tour events. He finished tied for 25th place in the European Tour Q-School to gain a place on the main tour for 2018. Bezuidenhout made the cut in 20 of his 26 2018 European Tour starts. His best finish was tied for 17th place and he finished 105th in the Order of Merit, just retaining his card for 2019.
Bezuidenhout was one of nine runners-up in the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters behind Justin Harding. He also tied for 4th place in the Hero Indian Open and for third place in the BMW International Open. The following week he won the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters and with the win earned entry into the 2019 Open Championship.[2][3][5] He was third in the 2019 BMW PGA Championship to enter the world top 100 for the first time and finished the season 18th in the European Tour Order of Merit.
In January 2020, Bezuidenhout lost in a sudden death playoff at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to Lucas Herbert. Playing his final hole he held the outright lead, but found the water with his third shot resulting in a bogey finish. He lost the playoff to a birdie on the second extra hole. The following month he won the Dimension Data Pro-Am in South Africa and advanced into the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking. Bezuidenhout trailed by a shot coming to the final hole but made an eagle 3 to beat George Coetzee by one.[6]
In November 2020, Bezuidenhout won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club. A final round 69 was good enough to help him win by four shots. 54-hole leader Adrian Meronk let his lead slide by shooting a final round 76.[7] A week later, Bezuidenhout claimed a wire-to-wire victory at the South African Open which was played at Gary Player Country Club. He became the first player with back-to-back victories on the European Tour since Justin Rose in 2017.[8]
Professional wins (7)
European Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 Jun 2019 | Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters | −10 (66-68-69-71=274) | 6 strokes |  Adri Arnaus, Eduardo de la Riva, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Álvaro Quirós, Jon Rahm |
| 2 | 29 Nov 2020 | Alfred Dunhill Championship1 | −14 (69-68-68-69=274) | 4 strokes |  Richard Bland,  Sean Crocker, Adrian Meronk, Jayden Schaper |
| 3 | 6 Dec 2020 | South African Open1 | −18 (67-67-67-69=270) | 5 strokes | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Jamie Donaldson |
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Lucas Herbert |
Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
Sunshine Tour wins (4)
| Legend |
| Alfred Dunhill Championships (1) |
| Other Sunshine Tour (3) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 Oct 2016 | Sun Fish River Challenge | −8 (69-69-70=208) | 2 strokes | Daniel van Tonder |
| 2 | 16 Feb 2020 | Dimension Data Pro-Am1 | −25 (61-67-69-67=264) | 1 stroke | George Coetzee |
| 3 | 29 Nov 2020 | Alfred Dunhill Championship2 | −14 (69-68-68-69=274) | 5 strokes | Richard Bland, Sean Crocker, Adrian Meronk, Jayden Schaper |
| 4 | 6 Dec 2020 | South African Open2 | −18 (67-67-67-69=270) | 5 strokes | Jamie Donaldson |
1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Big Easy Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Sep 2015 | The Kings Cup - Big Easy Tour | −10 (67-67=134) | 3 strokes | Riekus Nortje |
| 2 | 9 Sep 2015 | Big Easy Tour - Glendower GC | −1 (68-75=143) | 1 stroke |  Kim Dong-kwan, Michael Palmer |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T38 | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | 55 | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | NT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Championship | T29 | |
| Match Play | NT1 | |
| Invitational | T20 | |
| Champions | T17 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
References
- "Week 5 2021 Ending 31 Jan 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- Huggan, John (30 June 2019). "South African's maiden European Tour win is redemption after questionable drug ban as an amateur". Golf Digest.
- Tait, Alistair (30 June 2019). "Christiaan Bezuidenhout's first European Tour win comes with Open Championship bonus". Golfweek.
- "Young, talented: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (No. 6)". Sunshine Tour. 27 January 2016.
- Lavner, Ryan (30 June 2019). "From rat poison to winner's circle: Christiaan Bezuidenhout claims Andalucia Masters". Golf Channel.
- "Final hole eagle lifts Bezuidenhout to Dimension Data Pro-Am title". Sport 24. 16 February 2020.
- "Christiaan Bezuidenhout claims win at Alfred Dunhill Championship". Polish News. 29 November 2020.
- "South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout wins again on home soil". The Northern Echo. Press Association. 6 December 2020.
External links
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout at the European Tour official site
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout at the Sunshine Tour official site
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout at the Official World Golf Ranking official site