Mossel Bay caddie’s thrilling double win
Johan Swanepoel (31) from Mossel Bay enjoyed a huge high point in his career on Sunday, 6 December, when Christiaan Bezuidenhout, for whom he was caddying, won the South African Open Championship at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.
Swanepoel started caddying for Bezuidenhout at the Masters Tournament at Augusta (Georgia, United States) last month. Bezuidenhout finished tied in 38th place at the Masters.
Bezuidenhout’s five-shot win on Sunday followed his victory in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga, where Swanepoel was also his caddie.
Elated after the victory of the SA Open Champs, Swanepoel said in a video that Bezuidenhout had had an excellent mindset and had managed to defy the challenging winds that plagued the competition.
Bezuidenhout said in an interview after his win: “When things didn’t go my way on the front nine, my caddie just kept me calm, and we did a great job coming in.” Bezuidenhout signed for a final round of 69 to win on 18 under par, with Jamie Donaldson taking second place on 13 under par after also closing with a 69. Dylan Frittelli was third on 11 under with his final round of 71.
Swanepoel attended Park Primary and Point High in Mossel Bay and then went to the United States and did an MBA, which he passed with distinction. He played golf while at university in the States.
When he had completed his MBA he came back to SA and went straight to Leopard Creek. Purely by chance he got to caddie for Dawie van der Walt, who won the Nelson Mandela Invitational in Durban the very next week.
Parents
Swanepoel’s parents, Kobus and Elzaan, still live in Mossel Bay. The Mossel Bay Advertiser interviewed Kobus about Swanepoel’s career and childhood. Kobus said with a chuckle: “Johan went to Leopard Creek to make a little pocket money after doing his MBA.
Little did he know he would end up at the Nelson Mandela Invitational a week later and make much more than he’d thought.”
Kobus received a phone call from his son on Sunday night after the SA Open Champs victory. Johan said: “Dad, it was really nice to win this!”
Johan Swanepoel has caddied for a number of high profile golfers including South African Lee-Anne Pace, Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon Buhai and American Daniel Im. The most recent two golfers he caddied for were South Africans Darren Fichardt and Brandon Stone.
When he was 16 (Grade 10), Swanepoel was part of the SA junior golf team which played in Namibia. He had Springbok colours for golf. He won the Mossel Bay golf club championships when he was 16 and 17. An allrounder, Swanepoel also played rugby, cricket and first team hockey.
Swanepoel, who is also a professional tour operator, bringing visitors to the Garden Route, was in Dubai this week and is expected back in Mossel Bay next week.