CBez describes the Olympics as one of the coolest experiences of his golfing career

After rounds of 68, 70, 68, 67 for an 11-under par aggregate and a tied-16th place finish, Christiaan Bezuidenhout was full of praise for his first taste of Olympic golf.

“It’s very hard to put into words how amazing last week was representing my country at the Olympics,” said Christiaan just before boarding a flight from Tokyo for a couple of weeks off at home in South Africa. “I’ve always had mixed feelings about golf being back as an Olympic sport and even going into last week I didn’t really know what to expect. I can now honestly say it was one of the coolest experiences of my golfing career. Thank you everyone for the support and messages over the last few days. To Japan and all the people involved making last week such a huge success, thank you for making it one of the best weeks of my life.”

When Bezuidenhout teed it up for South Africa in the Tokyo Olympics, he didn’t just have a whole nation behind him but so too a global community of people who stutter. Bezuidenhout has been affected by a stutter since childhood. His openness in discussing the condition, allied to his rapid rise in the world golf rankings, has helped generate a good deal of awareness for the life challenges that stuttering can bring. It’s a cause that CBez is understandably passionate about and he is determined to use his high profile to help and inspire others. This has led to conversations with the team at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Its slogan is Dream. Speak. Live. CBez’s journey in golf is the perfect embodiment of those three simple but powerful words.

“Christiaan’s extraordinary talent, dedication to excellence, and triumph over adversity is an inspiration to young children and adults who stutter worldwide to pursue their dreams, speak from their hearts, and live their lives to the fullest,” says Dr. Courtney T. Byrd, Founding & Executive Director at the Center. “I can’t wait for all of the children, teens, and adults we work with to learn more about and be inspired by Christiaan, and for the non-stuttering community to be equally or even more inspired.”