'there Was A Drinks Bottle With Rat Poison In It... I Took A Sip'

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-4 Bezuidenhout (SA), Olesen (Den), Li (Chn), Fitzpatrick (Eng), English (US); -3 Jordan (Eng), Scheffler (US), Kawekanjana (Tha), Hatton (Eng)

Selected: -2 Westwood (Eng), Rai (Eng), Rose (Eng); -1 Rahm (Spa), Lowry (Ire), McIlroy (NI), Kimsey (Eng); Level MacIntyre (Sco); +1 McKibbin (NI); +2 Fleetwood (Eng); +4 Harrington (Ire), Clarke (NI)

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Christiaan Bezuidenhout is utilized to overcoming nan odds.

At nan property of two, nan South African was near fighting for his life aft taking a sip from a soft portion vessel he recovered connected nan thoroughfare astatine location that contained rat poison.

"Somehow I managed to unfastened it and took a sip," said Bezuidenhout.

"At nan infirmary they fundamentally told my parents we sewage location conscionable successful time. It was a matter of minutes."

Bezuidenhout, who earned a five-way stock of nan lead astatine The Open aft nan first round, had expected nan vessel to incorporate Coca-Cola, but it had been repurposed to clasp nan rat poison.

The past toddler escaped alive, but nan effect of nan incident was life-changing.

The 31-year-old was near pinch a damaged tense strategy and a terrible stammer, which saw him subjected to bullying passim his acquisition successful Delmas - a mini municipality eastbound of Johannesburg.

It makes his sporting profession each nan much singular arsenic he looks to build connected being an early joint-leader astatine Royal Portrush.

Bezuidenhout vanished his opening information pinch a four-under 67, successful a five-way necktie for first place.

Whether he tin past nan region remains to beryllium seen, but Bezuidenhout - a three-time title victor connected nan DP World Tour - is good versed successful defying expectations.

Bezuidenhout developed a reside impediment aft nan freak mishap that astir took his life astatine nan property of two.

The information worsened passim his childhood, starring to nan South African processing a terrible lawsuit of anxiety.

"I was fundamentally conscionable surviving successful my ain world because I was ever frightened of having to prosecute successful conversation," Bezuidenhout said successful 2019.

"When I talked to people, I knew I would struggle and it would return clip for maine to present my words, truthful I ever had a fearfulness of answering nan phone, saying my sanction aliases being asked a question."

Bezuidenhout saw reside therapists passim his teenage years successful a bid to amended his speech.

By nan property of 15, he was regularly taking medicine to dainty nan worry that accompanied nan condition.

But successful 2014, astatine nan property of 20, Bezuidenhout received nan news that he had grounded a narcotics trial astatine nan Amateur Championship astatine Portrush.

He had made organisers alert that he was taking beta blockers to dainty his anxiety.

But he was fixed a two-year prohibition - later reduced to 9 months connected entreaty - for failing nan narcotics test.

"It was reduced to 9 months because I wasn't utilizing nan medicine to amended my golf," Bezuidenhout told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.