Christiaan Bezuidenhout has always been amongst the most thoughtful of the young South African players making an impression on world stages, and this will stand him in good stead going into the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews on Thursday.
With many of the world’s leading players suggesting the Old Course is going to require chess-like precision this week, Bezuidenhout’s cerebral and unflappable approach is going to be an asset. It is likely to be even more valuable if the winds become stronger than current forecasts suggest.
It will be the third time he plays in the Open, with a share of 53rd last year at Royal St George’s, and a missed cut in 2019. However, with a share of second in his most recent tournament on the PGA Tour, the John Deere Classic earlier this month, as well as a closing four-under-par 66 in last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, he has rounded nicely into form ahead of the closing major championship of the year.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work over the last week, especially my golf swing and just overall my game, my fitness,” he said after the John Deere Classic. “My trainer is here as well. We’ve been doing a lot of good things over the last few months, so it’s nice to see the results coming through and the hard work is paying off.”
The 2020 South African Open champion reversed a steady downward trend on the world rankings list with his performance in the Us tournament, climbing from 75th to 59th, and he rose two more positions to 57th after the tournament in Scotland, back towards his career-high of 33rd back in January, 2021.
Bezuidenhout’s putting has always been one of his most potent weapons, and, until recently, it has not been up to the standards he sets for himself. But those figures are coming around again, and, added to the work he has been doing on the rest of his game, he has the tools at his disposal to deal with whatever comes his way on the Old Course.
He gets his campaign underway at 12:47 South African time tomorrow, in the company of Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and English amateur Sam Bairstow. In the forecast are winds rising from seven to 10 miles an hour up to 10 to 15 miles an hour, with gusts of up to 20 miles an hour in the afternoon.
That’s made for a player like Bezuidenhout.
