Louis leads SA dozen
OOSTHUIZEN: FIT-AGAIN 2010 CHAMPION EYES ANOTHER BRITISH OPEN TITLE
Limiting mistakes and keeping ball on the short stuff will be crucial at Carnoustie, says South Africa’s leading golfer.
Louis Oosthuizen has recovered from a neck injury to lead a 12-member South African contingent at the British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links starting today.
Oosthuizen, 35, withdrew from the Scottish Open last week placing his participation in The Open in doubt.
“It’s fine, I just pinched it last Tuesday. It happened to me before once a long time ago. There’s nothing you can do, everything was inflamed. It just needed a lot of ice and anti-inflammatories to get it down. Sunday was the first day I could hit a few shots,” Oosthuizen, the leading South African in the world rankings at No 32, said.
“I played the course on Sunday – when I played 18. On Monday and Tuesday I played nine holes so my preparation is done now. I’m going to go and relax now and look forward to my tee off.”
Despite missing out on the Scottish Open meaning his last competitive play came at the US Open a month ago, Oosthuizen was confident about his game.
“The game feels good, I think everything I’m working on is going well. I just need to have a solid four rounds.”
On the mental side, the 2010 Open champion said his collection of four second place finishes in Majors have helped him grow as a player. He made particular reference to the 2015 US Open when he started with a seven-over 77 before superb rounds of 66, 66 and 67, saw him eventually finish one shot behind American winner Jordan Spieth.
“I feel good. A Major week is all about taking it easy and being patient. I’ve had a few events where I was out of it and just stuck at it and came back there. It gave me a lot to think about afterwards – and how to go about winning a Major.
“You just have to stay as patient as you can, and know that everyone is going to make mistakes. You just need to make sure you make fewer mistakes than the rest of the guys.”
Oosthuizen will be joined by Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Dylan Frittelli, Brandon Stone, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Erik van Rooyen, Shaun Norris, George Coetzee, Zander Lombard and amateur Jovan Rebula in the field. Stone, in particular, is in red-hot form after winning the Scottish Open last week after shooting a phenomenal 10-under par 60 in the final round to win by four.
“It’s amazing seeing so many South Africans in the field, I saw a few new faces last week at the Scottish Open. It’s great to see so many guys here at The Open,” said Oosthuizen.
The key to scoring at the hard, dry and fast layout at Carnoustie will be keeping it on the short grass as much as possible according to Oosthuizen.
“We play this course a lot in Dunhill Links, but it plays very differently for The Open. It’s really a new golf course, it’s much drier. You can see the fairways – it’s tough to manage to keep the ball on the fairway.
“I think the toughest thing this week will be keeping the ball on the fairway with it running all over the place. The greens are good, so I just need to go out there and hit some proper golf shots.” – ANA
Hoylake
2013 - Phil Mickelson (US) at Muirfield
2012 - Ernie Els (SA) at Royal Lytham
2011 - Darren Clarke (Nir) at Royal St George’s
2010 - Louis Oosthuizen (SA) at St Andrews
2009 - Stewart Cink (US) at Turnberry
2008 - Padraig Harrington (Irl) at Royal Birkdale 2007 - Harrington at Carnoustie 2006 - Tiger Woods (US) at Hoylake 1999 - Van de Velde’s burnout
Frenchman Jean van de Velde (above) began the final round five shots ahead and was within one hole of tasting the champagne and lifting the Claret Jug ... then disaster struck. Conditions were so dire that he could have won the title even with a double bogey on the last but he came away with a triple bogey after his third shot went into the Barry Burn. Instead of accepting the accolades of the crowd as the first Frenchman to win a Major since 1907 he trudged disconsolately off into a threeway play-off which Scotsman Paul Lawrie, who had shot a superb 67, won. The fallout from that nightmare carried over into his personal life as he separated in 2002 from Brigitte his wife, coach and mother of their two daughters.