Christiaan Bezuidenhout started playing golf at the age of four, growing up next to Delmas GC in South Africa. He excelled as a junior and thrived in his four years as a member of the Ernie Els Foundation, founded by Ernie in 1999 to provide educational assistance and golfing opportunities for youngsters predominantly from families of limited resources.

“Christiaan went about his work with a quiet determination to succeed,” recalls Hannes van Niekerk, CEO at the Foundation. “He took his school work and his golf seriously. He didn’t ever pitch up at a tournament to come second, he was always there to be the absolute best he could be. His dedication was a great example to the other members. It’s no surprise to us that he is now seeing success in the professional game.”

Christiaan turned professional in 2015, winning the Order of Merit on the Big Easy Tour, the developmental tour for the Sunshine Tour. He was Rookie of the Year on the Sunshine Tour in 2017 and earned a DP World Tour card for 2018. Christiaan claimed his maiden Tour title in 2019 at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, shooting rounds of 66, 68, 69, 71 on the notoriously tough Valderrama layout for an impressive six-stroke victory.

Ernie Els was full of praise for Christiaan’s quick transition from rookie to tournament winner. “I remember Christiaan joining us at our Foundation; he clearly had some game. To see him come of age with his first DP World Tour win in 2019 was quite a thrill for me. I’d been very impressed the way he’d established himself as a pro; I remember at the Dunhill a few years previously he’d got a special invite and he wasn’t overawed by the experience. It felt to me like he was building-up to that win in Spain. And I’m not surprised he’s won again since.”

Indeed, the following season Christiaan started the year with victory at the Dimension Data Pro-Am, a co-sanctioned event between the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge Tour, and then at the end of the year secured back-to-back DP World Tour wins on home soil at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the South African Open.

“It’s any South African golfer’s dream to win a national tournament,” commented Christiaan. “It’s unreal. I fought hard today, the front nine things didn’t go my way and I just dug deep. I’m really, really chuffed to stand here as a winner.”

Christiaan finished 2020 placed seventh on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and broke into the Top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. In 2021 he represented South Africa in the Olympics in Tokyo and, at the end of that season, earned his 2021-22 PGA TOUR card after finishing fifth in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Christiaan would then tee it up in 24 tournaments across 12 US states and Mexico, making the cut 20 times and accumulating $2,233,289 in prize money. In this, his rookie year, he finished a creditable 51st in the FedEx Cup rankings. The icing on the cake was a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. In 2023 Christiaan had a solid year, finishing comfortably inside the requisite top-125 on the FedEx Cup rankings to guarantee his playing privileges for the 2024 season.

The 2024 season was a step-up in terms of consistency of results and one that would see Christiaan further establish himself on the PGA TOUR. He opened his account in January with a runner-up finish in The American Express at La Quinta, California, and went on to register 15 top-30 finishes from 23 PGA TOUR starts to earn his spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship, a career first. On the team golf front, Christiaan travelled to Paris in the summer to represent South Africa for a second time in the Olympics. He was also picked for a second appearance for the International Team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal GC in Canada. 

“For me, it’s important that I always work hard, while remaining humble,” comments Christiaan. “To keep calm during the difficult times and not to give up but, more importantly, to be cool-headed during the better times and to focus on what is important.”

It’s an appropriately balanced outlook from a young man who, at the age of two, nearly died having mistakenly drank rat poison from a Coca-Cola can. It left him with a stammer and he has lived his whole life navigating the challenges of stuttering. Christiaan is now partnered with the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. As their global ambassador he relishes the opportunity to inspire the stuttering community worldwide to triumph over adversity, to never let stuttering stop them from pursuing their personal and professional dreams, and to ensure that no child has to suffer the way he did.

Christiaan resides in Florida with his wife, Kristen. In November 2023 the couple were blessed to welcome their first child to the world, a son, John Christiaan.

Key Information
Born: 18 May 1994
Birthplace: Delmas, South Africa
Turned Professional: 2015
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 195lbs
Attachment: Serengeti Wildlife & Golf Estate
Interests: Diving, Chelsea FC, music

Tournament Wins
2020 South African Open
2020 Alfred Dunhill Championship
2020 Dimension Data Pro-Am
2019 Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation
2016 Sun Fish River Challenge
2015 The Kings Cup – Big Easy Tour
2015 Glendower GC – Big Easy Tour

National Teams
Olympics – 2020, 2024
Presidents Cup – 2022, 2024

Notable Facts & Figures
Member of the Ernie Els Foundation from 2011-14.
Topped the 2015 Order of Merit on The Big Easy Tour in SA.
Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year in 2017.
European Tour Golfer of the Month in December 2020.