If you were to ask Christiaan Bezuidenhout about his split-second decision decades ago, he wouldn’t remember everything. What he does remember is how people treated him for the resulting anxiety and stutter when he was but a teenager, including facing accusations of using drugs to improve his golf performance.
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Bezuidenhout was four when he was diagnosed with anxiety and, as per a player blog on the DP World Tour, became very “introverted and depressed.” He stepped away from people, hiding his stutter to avoid speaking if possible and save his fragile childhood. Golf, however, didn’t need him to speak.
In an interview on the 5 Clubs Golf, Bezuidenhout, now one of the members of the International Team at the Presidents Cup, revealed why that proved essential. “Growing up with it was really hard for me. I never open up about it. I was shy of the way I speak, and I stutter for majority of my life… I use golf as an escape because it’s a lone sport. You can do it by yourself. And that was my escape.”
But, of course, Bezuidenhout understands that he can help others fight it, too. That is why, he confessed, “So, sharing my story to people around the world, and I just hope it helps… encourages them, that I can get through it and a lot of them can [too].” What is this story, you might wonder now.
Contrary to popular belief, Bezuidenhout wasn’t born with the stutter. It started in 1996. Bezuidenhout, then just two years old, was playing outside when he noticed a soda bottle. He took a drink from it, believing it was Coke, but it was rat poison. He was admitted to intensive care, and the doctors had to pump out the poison from his body. Though he escaped death, as revealed in a 2020 interview, the poison had severely affected his nervous system.
Soon after, he developed a stutter, something that his family believed was related to the incident. At the age of four, he was diagnosed with anxiety. Unfortunately, kids his age weren’t very kind to him, forcing him to keep his distance from them. In his own words, he pretty much became a “loner.” But the worst was yet to come.
At the age of 14 or 15, Bezuidenhout met a psychologist who prescribed beta blockers to him. He was already playing amateur tournaments by then, so he made sure that everyone was aware he was taking the medications. Unfortunately, that hardly came in use. As he prepared to represent South Africa for the Eisenhower Trophy, he was slapped with two years of ban.
The reason? The medication he was taking. The worst part was that it all happened just two days before the tournament. “To be told two days before the event that I couldn’t go because of a two year drugs ban was simply too much for me to take in. It felt like my life was over,” he wrote in the player blog. Later, it was ruled out that he was using the medication for performance improvement. The ban was reduced to nine months, but the damage had been done.
“I was accused of using it to better my performances, which really hurt me and my family. A lot of nasty things were said and I was known as the guy banned from golf for a drug-related incident.” He turned professional at the age of 21 and has said he has not needed the medication since then. He played on a mini tour, won in his debut tournament, then finished second in the SA Open in his pro debut. Bezuidenhout now plays on the DP World Tour. How amazing is that?
His strong and consistent form helped International team captain Geoff Ogilvy choose him as one of his captain’s picks for Medinah. Now, he will represent South Africa at the Presidents Cup for the third time.
In an interview with the PGA Tour, the International Team captain said, “Christiaan has experience in this event that would have been difficult to leave on the table. He’s earned 3.5 points in five matches, including two Singles victories. He knows what to expect and he delivers. That’s why I’ve selected him.”
Bezuidenhout has played 21 events this season and made the cut in 18 of them. Not only that, he has two top-10s and an impressive record in the Presidents Cup: 3-1-1 and 2-0 in singles. Bezuidenhout himself, though, is very excited.
“I was on the bubble as far as getting the call, whether I was in or out. To get the call from Geoff was awesome. You’re not playing for your captain, your assistant captain, your country and The Shield.” As far as his fans can say, he deserves every single bit of it, especially for someone who has had a long journey.
By 2021, he began speaking openly about his stutter and teamed up with the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Two years later, Bezuidenhout became the Center’s Global Ambassador, a role he credits with changing his life. Since then, Bezuidenhout has used his platform to help others. Bezuidenhout has worked with Ernie Els in helping nurture future golfers for six years. Now, they’re friends.
He has also hosted the Center’s annual charity golf tournament in South Africa. The event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support stuttering treatment and education. Now, he says a first-of-its-kind stuttering camp will be held in South Africa this month.
“We’re actually having a camp later this month in South Africa for the first time,” he said, “educating people about stuttering… because for myself, growing up in South Africa, we had limited resources there.”
Bezuidenhout has gone from being afraid of speaking in public to openly talking about his stutter in interviews. This change has come during one of the best seasons of his career. For a player who once struggled to give a trophy speech, being chosen for the International Team for the third time means much more than just playing golf.
Bezuidenhout will compete at Medinah from September 22 to 27. But his biggest impact may already be happening away from the course, as children who struggle with stuttering in South Africa will soon have the chance to meet and learn from someone who understands exactly what they are going through.