Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa looks on from the sixth hole during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club Though he celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, Christiaan Bezuidenhout did not make the cut at the PGA Championship last week. Picture: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP
It may not always be the worst thing missing the cut in a major championship. At least that’s what South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout will be hoping, when he tees it up in the Charles Schwab Challenge starting on Thursday.
Though he celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, Bezuidenhout did not make the cut at the PGA Championship last week. Despite rounds of 74 and 68 for a level par total, he missed out on the final 36 holes by a stroke.
Though he dearly would have loved to improve on his best finish of 30th in a major in his 14th attempt, it was not to be. Grinding it out in a major is always seen as more mentally and physically draining than a regular event, so in that regard Bezuidenhout might just be a bit fresher.
Added to that, it’s not as if Bezuidenhout played badly at the PGA Championship and he could quite easily be close to shooting some really low rounds.
This was pretty cool
— Fit For Golf - Mike Carroll (@Fit_For_Golf) March 14, 2024
Started working with Christiaan Bezuidenhout about 6 weeks ago
Goal #1, get into the 170’s ball speed on the course (then watch out 🙂)
Filmed this drive, checked PGA Tour App, 170mph ball speed
Fastest of the season so far (pretty sure)👌
Trending 📈 pic.twitter.com/jl4BVODB1e
The top-ranked SA player in men’s golf at number 57 in the world rankings had a third and 16th place finish in his previous two starts, which shows the form is there for Bezuidenhout.
However, in 2024 Bezuidenhout has only had three top-10 finishes to go with his three missed cuts from 14 events.
Another South African playing this week will be Garrick Higgo. The former world number 38, now finds himself 192nd on the global rankings after three missed cuts in a row. The 25-year-old left-hander will be hoping to find something this week to arrest his slide in the rankings.
Higgo had a phenomenal start to his career since turning professional in 2019. He won three times on the DP World Tour (DPWT) and claimed victory in just his second US PGA Tour event three years ago. He has also won twice on the Sunshine Tour.
In fact, in 2021, Higgo won his second DPWT event in April, his third in May and followed that with his first PGA Tour win in June. That meant he had tasted victory in three successive months as he made the most of an incredible hot streak.