Photograph of golf player Christiaan Bezuidenhout, of South Africa, in a yellow shirt, swinging a golf club during the final practice round for the 2022 Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the US. International team member Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa on the 16th hole during the final practice round for the 2022 Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, on September 21. Picture: Erik S Lesser, EPA
Centurion – As the only South African representative among the players on the international team in the Presidents Cup starting in North Carolina on Thursday, much expectation will rest on the shoulders of Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
The Presidents Cup rookie will play under countryman and international captain Trevor Immelman, and Bezuidenhout believes he is ready to perform at the highest stage of team competition in golf.
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“As soon as we found out that Trevor is going to be the captain of the international team, that was definitely one of my biggest goals of the season was to make this team, and to represent my country with Trevor being our captain this week,” Bezuidenhout said on Wednesday.
“So hopefully we can make South Africa proud this week.”
The US team, though, are highly favoured as only Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim on the international team have played in the Presidents Cup before. In fact, every player on the US team is ranked higher in the world golf rankings, except for three players on the international team.
The Presidents Cup is also missing a number of top players who are ineligible after defecting to the LIV Golf tour. One such player who will be sorely missed is SA’s Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen had played in the last four editions of the Presidents Cup, and his absence will have come as a massive blow for the team.
Embracing their underdog tag, Bezuidenhout, the 2020 SA Open champion, expected the competition to be fierce.
“I haven't been part of a Presidents Cup yet, but just speaking to the other guys that have been part of it and been in this environment, guys like Hideki, Adam Scott, that hasn't won it yet, and you can just see they want to tick this box off the list.
“So, yeah, it would mean a lot for the international team. As well playing under the shield for the second time now, we came together as a unit. So I'm sure all of us that's playing this week would love to lift the cup.”
The 28-year-old Bezuidenhout won’t be in action on Thursday, with only 10 of the 12 players on either team in action on day one foursomes (alternate shot).