'King' Louis back on Major hunt
The 2010 Open Champion said one of his main ambitions in his career was to add to his Major title, and his current form suggests his wait could be nearing an end.
“I would like to get myself more in those situations to see if I can get that second and maybe even a third Major,” said Oosthuizen on the eve of the event.
“But it’s a great place to be in and that’s what we all work hard towards, to be in that situation, to win a Major.”
‘King Louis’ missed out by a single shot at the US Open at Chambers Bay in June, and then lost in a playoff for the Open Championship in July to American winner Zach Johnson.
“I felt I did everything right at the Open at St. Andrews. I played to my strengths at the golf course. I did exactly what I tried to do the whole week. And at the end of the day you want to give yourself a chance to win a major on the back nine on Sunday. And that’s exactly the situation that I put myself in. It was just not good enough to get it done.”
With American Jordan Spieth winning the first two Majors of the year, a US clean sweep in the big four golf events of the year is on the cards. History, however, is on the Rainbow Nation’s side. American Tiger Woods won the first two Majors of 2002 before Ernie Els halted his run with his Open Championship win at Muirfield that year.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a clean sweep this year with Americans taking the Majors. Obviously Jordan has got the best record on the Majors this year. But there are lots of guys that have got a good chance.
“But, it takes a lot of hard work and playing a lot of golf and being in that situation to put yourself in them. And that’s what you see from top guys winning two, three, four Majors. They’ve got the ability to put themselves in that situation and then pull it off. I think there’s only a handful of guys that wins more than two Majors. It’s great to see when they get in that situation to be able to just pull it off.”
The other South Africans in with a good chance of contending this week are Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and four-time Major winner Ernie Els.
Grace finished in a tie for fourth at the US Open, while Schwartzel collected seventh. Els, though inconsistent in the twilight of his career still has the ability to turn it on in Major championships.
George Coetzee could also be a good bet, as the three-time European Tour winner is yet to produce his best in one of the big four events on the annual golfing calendar.
SA player tee times (SA time): Rory Sabbatini (2.45pm), Johan Kok (2.55pm), Charl Schwartzel (3.15pm), Louis Oosthuizen (3.25pm), Ernie Els (3.55pm), Branden Grace (4.15pm), George Coetzee (8.20pm), Tim Clark (9.30pm).-- Michael Sherman