Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa walks the first hole during a practice round prior to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort on June 10, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the only South African picked for the international team at The Presidents Cup. Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images/AFP
Only one of the three South Africans up for selection cracked the nod for the International team for the Presidents Cup, which was announced on Tuesday.
Erik van Rooyen, Thriston Lawrence and Christiaan Bezuidenhout were all high up on the player rankings from which international captain Mike Weir had to make selections.
Only Bezuidenhout managed to make the team as Canadian Weir went for three of his countrymen in Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith. Hughes, 33, will be making his debut in the Presidents Cup.
Bezuidenhout, 30, is the top-ranked SA player at 46th in the world and Weir could have made his pick purely based on that but Lawrence could have easily made the team as well. The 27-year-old has three top-five finishes in his last four starts, including a fourth place finish at The Open Championship in July.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished 2nd this week behind Nick Dunlap @ the Amex. I knew the dude was a heck of a player but I had no idea about his story. As a toddler, he accidentally drank rat poison. His life was saved, but he suffered severe nervous system & speech issues. pic.twitter.com/7873thwgRa
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) January 23, 2024
In fact, Lawrence actually led at one point during the final round and though he made no mistakes as he was overtaken by eventual champion Xander Schauffele. That performance alone could have swayed Weir’s decision, but clearly it didn’t.
Having already played on the losing international team at the 2022 Presidents Cup, Weir explained why he chose Bezuidenhout.
“Christiaan is having the best year of his PGA TOUR career and it’s exciting to watch him cement his name alongside all of the great South Africans who have competed in multiple Presidents Cups,” said Weir.
“He is incredibly steady on and off the golf course and is a player whose game will mesh well with any partner on the International Team.”
The Presidents Cup will take place from September 24 to September 26 at Royal Montreal Golf Club.