Christiaan Bezuidenhout carded a four-under-par 67 on Thursday in an impressive start to the second of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware.
Bezuidenhout made six birdies and two bogeys to be just three shots off the lead which was held by Keegan Bradley of the United States at seven-under. Bradley led by one from Adam Scott, with Harold Varner III, Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas in a share of third.
Bezuidenhout started with a bogey on the first, but he got things going with three birdies in a row from the third to the fifth. He picked up three more shots with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th, but he made a drop on the 15th when he missed the green on the par-three a long way right, and he was unable to get up and down. He hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation in his round, and his game is normally characterised by even greater accuracy.
Bezuidenhout started the week ranked 60th on the FedEx Cup list, and needs to get inside the top 30 if he is to make it to the Tour Championship at East Lake, Atlanta, next week. His current share of sixth projects him to 40th place.
The tour says the absolute worst finish Bezuidenhout can have and still move on to the Tour Championship is solo eighth, but that also depends on what guys in front of and behind him in the standings do.
“I just came out here to give myself a chance,” he said. “I’m just going to play my game. If I make it, great; if I don’t, I’m really pleased with a good rookie season on the PGA Tour to have made it to this point.”
