Open Championship Countdown - Focus on Louis Oosthuizen

WHEN The Open Championship was last played at St Andrews it was won at a canter by Louis Oosthuizen, of South Africa. The hitherto relatively unknown Oosthuizen, who had to tell the starter how to pronounce his name, drove and putted magnificently.

He eventually won the tournament by seven shots and later put it down to a red dot he had marked on his glove. He said that throughout the four rounds he had focused on that dot at the beginning of his pre-shot routine and on every shot he played that week.

His languid swing was the envy of all and sundry and it seemed that he must go on to win many other tournaments, and majors.

At The Masters in 2012, he holed his second shot at the par-five second for an albatross that put him into contention to emulate his contemporary Charl Schwartzel. He led The Masters until the 16th hole, when he was caught by Bubba Watson.

Louis Oosthuizen was the last man to win The Open at St Andrews 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgY6J6SX3g

They were tied after 72 holes and then Watson produced that outrageous recovery with a wedge, when he somehow managed to hook the ball around the bushes with a wedge for the most unlikely birdie seen at Augusta National since Tiger Woods holed THAT chip at the 16th.

Oosthuizen, who had been as high as fourth in the world rankings, has yet to win on the PGA Tour and has won just seven times on the European Tour, including The Open. Two of those successes have come in his native South Africa.

He finished second in the US Open at Chambers Bay, but his best effort in the US PGA is a tie for 14th in 2014. So, with a swing to die for, the perfect temperament and in his prime at 32 years of age, why has Oosthuizen still only one major victory to his credit?

Sadly, he suffers chronic back pain. And when it is at its worst, he can barely swing a club, far less compete at the highest level. The condition has afflicted him throughout his career and is the only thing that has stopped him making further progress.

He also has a tendency to tinker with his putting stroke, and often goes from a conventional grip to left hand below right. He has even experimented with the claw grip. To the onlooker, he appears to have a putting stroke that is as slow and rhythmic as his full swing, but he clearly has mental issues with this part of his game. It was interesting to note, however, that while all and sundry were criticising the greens at Chambers Bay, Oosthuizen just kept his head down and got on with the job. After opening with a 77, he followed with rounds of 66, 66 and 67, and completed the back nine on the final day in 29 strokes to finish one behind the winner, Jordan Spieth.

For now, at least, Oosthuizen appears to be injury-free and swinging as well as he has ever done. For a relatively small man  (he is 5ft 10in), he hits the ball a long, long way. Returning to St Andrews may well be the catalyst he needs. It is bound to bring back many positive memories, and it should surprise nobody if he leaves the field in his wake again.

Oosthuizen deserves a break, a few months without pain. If he can achieve that, watch him go.