Born and raised in South Africa, Angus Klintworth has traveled halfway across the world to Provo, to keep doing what he loves most, swinging a golf club at a little white ball and watching it fly.
Standing at 6-foot-6, the tallest player on the BYU men’s golf team, Klintworth was defined by resilience way before he ever stepped foot on a collegiate course.
Both of Klintworth's parents are converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and missionaries had always been a meaningful part of their conversion. Angus was raised in the church as well, but when it came time to decide whether he should serve a mission, he didn’t know if that was the right thing for him.
Life shifted unexpectedly one afternoon when he was on the phone with his best friend. The call cut out, something normal in South Africa, so Klintworth didn’t think anything of it. An hour later, he got a distraught call from his friend’s mother that his friend had passed away.
“It really shocked me,” he said. “Moments earlier I had been on the phone with him and then suddenly he was gone.”
The loss triggered a time of religious reflection. Missionaries were often serving in his area. At the same time, he noticed BYU golf was having a strong year, and when the BYU coaching staff flew to South Africa on a recruiting trip, he connected with them.
When he brought up the idea of a mission the coaching staff was extremely supportive which made an impact on Klintworth. Between his parents’ encouragement, the coaches’ reassurance, and the life-changing search for religious answers he was processing, Klintworth eventually thought, Why not go?
He received his mission call to the New Zealand Mission in 2020 and was thrilled. But when his visa was rejected and he was reassigned to the Scotland/Ireland Mission, where he happened to have dual citizenship.
Long before any mission calls or college recruiting, Klintworth had always been an athlete. He first picked up golf on Christmas family vacations at the Champagne Sports Resort. But his early standout sport was cricket. In elementary school, cricket was taught from a young age, and Klintworth caught on quickly eventually making a national-level team.
That path didn’t last forever. As the competition level increased, he reached a point where he could no longer remain on the team, and that’s when he leaned more seriously into golf.
“Growing up, my brothers always teased me for playing an ‘old man’s sport,'" he said with a laugh. “They were all rugby guys, that’s the sport in South Africa.”
Klintworth definitely received the loving brother bullying.
But golf in South Africa is much more accessible and affordable than in the U.S., which allowed him to develop quickly. Two moments he reflected on were a reassurance to him that he had real talent.
“When I was 13, I played with the CEO of Puma, they owned Cobra, and I shot one under from the pro tees," he said. "They were gobsmacked. I was barely 100 pounds. They ended up giving me a sponsorship so I could get clubs and support me to keep playing.”
Soon after, his life intersected with a golf and South African legend. Gary Player, arguably the greatest athlete South Africa has ever produced, became Klintworth's mentor. Player’s late wife Vivienne was close with Klintworth's dad, and the relationship grew from there.
“He became like a grandfather to me,” Klintworth said. “He’d give me golf advice, call me, and bring me out to his farm in Colesberg where he trained horses. I’d hit golf balls off his patio. He really taught me the mental side of the game.”
One Christmas at Goose Valley, Player asked Klintworth where he wanted to play college golf. Klintworth mentioned BYU had reached out.
“He had nothing but good things to say about BYU,” Klintworth said. “Outside of America, when people hear ‘Mormon,’ there can be a lot of misconceptions. Hearing someone like Gary Player speak so highly of BYU meant a lot.”
When Klintworth eventually returned home from his mission and was off to play at BYU, life began to fill with unexpected challenges.
His college career has been marked by injuries and setbacks. He redshirted his first year. After returning from his mission, it took longer than he expected to regain rhythm and feel. Not touching a club for two years set him back technically, and he had to push himself hard to quite literally get back to the swing of things again.
Just when he started to return to form, he was in a car crash.
“I broke my hand in the accident,” he said. “It was really difficult. I had worked so hard to get back after the mission, and then suddenly it was all taken away again.”
The recovery was slow and mentally draining. Golf is different in a competition aspect because golfers compete within a team while they cheer for their teammates.
“One of the hardest parts mentally is watching your teammates succeed while you’re injured,” he said. “You’re genuinely happy for them, but also competing for the same spots. I worked so hard after my mission to get competitive again, and then to be set back.”
In July, he played in the Horn tournament and posted a strong first round, but re-injured his hand when his club struck a hidden rock.
“I rushed back too soon,” he admitted. “That one was on me.”
It took another ten months before he could compete again. Finally, when BYU’s fall season began in September, he started to feel like himself again and started to feel more healed.
“I finally feel like starting in January we’re going to have a real chance at the Natty, and I’ll be able to contribute," he said. "That means so much after everything.”
As he looks toward the future, gratitude and giving back is the focus of it all.
“I’d love to give back,” he said. “I’ve been handed so many opportunities, and BYU has taught me to serve and help others. Through school and golf and everything I’ve learned here, I want to use it to help people who are less fortunate.”
From cricket fields to Player’s patio, from grief to mission life, from injuries to recovery, Angus Klintworth’s path has shaped him into the person and player he is today.