Brave as a lion…

 

Bezuidenhout is an unusual name. There is only one Bezuidenhout in the world of golf and yet it is not a name that stands out.

Christian Bezuidenhout is a player who’s been around for ages, amassing $11m in prize money in the US, but without ever winning. A brilliant golfer then but not a man who grabs attention…

Until yesterday.

With his name atop the leaderboard of the Open Championship (-4  or 4 under par), Sky Sports wanted to interview him on his great round.

And why not?

Well…

As soon as the interview began, I sensed that something was awry. He looked uncomfortable and this made me uncomfortable. Was it eye contact that was lacking? He appeared to be nervous. Maybe so and because he is unused to media attention. He tripped up on a word which is understandable, something we can all do and especially on a live TV interview. But then it happened again, and I wondered if he might have a stammer…

The short interview about his brilliant round was somewhat overshadowed by his struggles to articulate it. Andrew Coulthard, a former tour player and now an excellent pundit for Sky sought to clarify these struggles after the interview had finished.

When he was two years old, on his farm in South Africa, Christian Bezuidenhout almost died when he drank some rat poison. (It was in a Coke bottle of all things).

The poison wreaked havoc with his central nervous system affecting his development and leading to a stammer, anxiety and the obvious social problems which stem from such disadvantages.

Kids like to fit in, and we all know that kids can be cruel. I imagine that young Christian could have been bullied at school, and it is no surprise that he applied his hand eye brilliance to an individual sport like golf.

Golf is a solitary pursuit. The only sport that can be played alone and where nothing is shared. A player’s ball is his own. It is often said that golfers play in their own bubble…

And I suspect that this all suited a brilliant kid who was different and who needed time away and on his own.

That Christian Bezuidenhout has joined the ranked of world class golfers is a great life story but what struck me yesterday was his bravery to do something as exposing as a TV interview. He could easily have declined; the broadcaster would have understood and grabbed another player with a low score.

Golf is a hard and in the main it is cruel game. Maybe it is even the hardest game of all. Played over thousands of yards but outcomes determined by the shortest of shots and mere milimeters. Factor in the wind and the elements and the hours of concentration required, it is a game where mental fortitude is as much required as prodigious levels of skill.

Elite golfers must be brilliant, but they must also be brave.

And why it is no surprise that Christian did not decline the interview with Sky.  Yesterday he had beaten the world’s best golfers on one of the world’s hardest courses and he felt ready to explain himself.

And good for him. I am glad that he did because now we know his struggles, it makes his success even more remarkable.

I think of his parents and that fateful day on the farm all those years ago which must have caused so much anguish and led to such heartache in the years ahead.

And watching him yesterday during and after his round, how incredibly proud they must be of their remarkable little boy.

 

 

 

Speaking of remarkable stories – Open Links is one I made up – but it too has a remarkable outcome with all my profits going to Anthony Nolan – who save people’s lives.

 

 

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