Who is Christiaan Bezuidenhout? Exploring everything about the South African golfer

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is one of the players at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The South African carded a 6-under 66 with four birdies and an eagle in the first round. He also started the second round strong with three birdies in his first five holes.

Bezuidenhout, 29, was born in the small town of Delmas in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, about 35 miles southeast of Pretoria. He began playing golf at the age of four under the tutelage of his father, a scratch golfer.

As he progressed through the junior and amateur categories, he was coached by South African star Ernie Els, who also helped him financially in his career.

In 2014, he was part of a notorious event in the golf world, getting disqualified from the Amateur Championship for testing positive for beta-blockers. Christiaan Bezuidenhout had declared the consumption of the drug, but still received a two-year ban.

Bezuidenhout accidentally ingested poison when he was two years old, leaving him with anxiety and a stutter. At the age of 14, his family doctor prescribed beta-blockers, and the player took them throughout his amateur career.

Eventually, the International Golf Federation reduced the sanction to nine months.

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Christiaan Bezuidenhout's professional career

The South African turned professional in 2015 and quickly excelled on the South African circuits. On the IGT Pro Tour, he won three tournaments between March and August 2015, while in September that year, he won two events in the same week on the Big Easy Tour.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout made his debut in Europe in 2013, but managed to stabilize his position on the circuit only in 2016. That season, he played six events on the DP World Tour and six on the Challenge Tour, winning the 2016 Sun Fish River Challenge on the latter.

He alternated between the two main European circuits in 2017 as well, and the following year he played consistently on the DP World Tour. In 2019, he won the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters, while in 2020 he won the Dimension Data Pro-Am, the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the South African Open.

Worldwide, Christiaan Bezuidenhout has played 111 tournaments on the DP World Tour, making 82 cuts, winning three times and finishing 10 times in the top 10. On the Challenge Tour, he has played in 23 tournaments with 12 cuts, one win and one top 10.

He debuted on the PGA Tour in 2019, and earned his official membership on the circuit in 2022 by finishing in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup. At this level, he has played 73 tournaments with 56 cuts and four top 10s.

As for the majors, Christiaan Bezuidenhout has played in 14 editions with nine cuts. His best result was a T31 at the 2021 U.S. Open.