Bezuidenhout surges to two stroke lead
South Africa's number one amateur Christiaan Bezuidenhout, racked up eight birdies in an eight-under-par 64 to lead the first round of the South African Stroke Play Championship at Benoni Country Club, on Tuesday.
PHOTO: AFP
The 19-year-old Nigel golfer, was at his ball-striking best as he signed for a two-stroke lead over Chris Selfridge from Ireland.
Bezuidenhout has a three-shot cushion on 17-year-old Ewen Ferguson from the Scottish Golf Union’s Mens National Team, and is four shots clear of Scott Gibson of Scotland, Swiss golfer Joel Girrbach and compatriots Andrew Carlsson, Marco Steyn and top ranked junior Kyle McClatchie, who joined the bus at four-under late in the day after holing a nine-iron from 155 metres at the par-three eighth for his second career ace.
But it was Bezuidenhout who finished birdie-birdie to sit top of the pile at the end of a calm, warm day in Benoni.
“I just played really well, especially off the tee and my short game,” said Bezuidenhout.
“I missed just two fairways and had 26 putts, so not a bad day at the office, at all.”
Birdies at the second, fourth and ninth helped the Ekurhuleni golfer move into contention, and he surged ahead of the competition with five more gains at the 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th and 18th.
“You want to get your hands on every trophy you play for, and especially the SA Stroke Play or Match Play trophies, but this game doesn’t really work like that,” said Bezuidenhout.
“It was nice to start with a solid round and put myself in a strong position. My short game was really good, especially the putts and I think eight under is a good position to be in.
“I wanted to give myself as many chances as possible to make birdies, so I’m happy I pulled that off.”
– Sapa
