He won the Dutch Amateur Match Play Championship in 2001, just two years after taking up the sport.

The highlight of his amateur career came in 2006, when he won the Eisenhower Trophy in partnership with Joost Luiten and Tim Sluiter, and also finished with the lowest individual score.

[3] At the end of the year, Besseling attempted to gain his card on the European Tour via the qualifying school.

He won his first title on that tour at the second tournament of the season, the Club Colombia Masters, when he was a runaway winner, finishing seven strokes clear of the field.

[4] He also collected three runners-up prizes during the year, and ended the season in 15th place on the money list to graduate directly to the European Tour for 2009.