The 18th at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland was a microcosm of Christiaan Bezuidenhout’s first round of the 153rd Open Championship on Thursday – a stellar approach, but a narrow miss on the birdie putt.
Former SA Open champion Bezuidenhout was the best-placed South African after the first round with a share of the lead on a long day on the links as play often ground to a halt on the tough course.
The 31-year-old won the SA Open title in 2020, a week after also capturing the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
During a bogey-free front nine, he made birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes to go out in 33 and, while he bogeyed the par-four 11th, he hit back with an eagle at the next hole, the par-five 12th to record a 34 on his back nine.
The 67 was his best round in major golf.
“Leading into this week, I had a decent finish last week at the Scottish Open, where I played well,” he said. “Actually played a lot better, I thought. It’s just hard to make putts on that golf course. Yeah, my game was in a good spot.
“I’ve been putting a lot of work in on my swing. I’ve been going through some swing changes and stuff. It’s nice to see that paying off.
“For getting attuned to the greens, I have to try to adjust to the speed. I’ve hit a lot of putts over the first three days on the greens just to get my speed dialled. A course like this where the greens are a little bit slower, you have to adjust to the speed. You can have a lot of putts 30, 40, 50 feet that usually lag to two or three feet. The speed on the greens is crucial out there.”
Bezuidenhout will play in the morning field in the second round on Friday.
Several players were at four-under-par, including England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, while world number one Scottie Scheffler shot a 68, to be on three-under-par.
The next best South African after the first round was Dean Burmester, who shot an even-par 71. He had an eagle and three birdies on his round but also three bogeys and a double-bogey.
Shaun Norris was at one-over-par after a 72, that included two birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey.
Justin Walters was a further shot back at two-over-par after a 73 and certainly not out of the mix. He made four birdies to go with a triple-bogey on the par-four fourth hole and three bogeys on his back nine.
Another recent SA Open champion and the man who finished fourth at the Open last year, Thriston Lawrence was also at two-over-par, after making four birdies and four bogeys and one double.
Dylan Naidoo, the most recent SA Open champions, from Durban, was at three-over-par after a decent 74 in his first major outing.
The other South Africans in the field will have to produce some magic on Friday to make the halfway cut.
Louis Oosthuizen, the Open champion from St Andrews in 2010, is six-over-par, Aldrich Potgieter, a recent winner on the PGA Tour, is also six-over-par, while Darren Fichardt is seven-over-par, Daniel van Tonder at eight-over-par and amateur Bryan Newman at 11-over-par.
