Golf Special Report: Player Profile- Louis Oosthuizen
South African golfers have often made it big in the golfing world. Bobby Locke and Gary Player were amazing golfers. Ernie Els, who is also part of the World Golf Hall of Fame now, is considered a golf legend. Following their footsteps is another young gun,
Louis Oosthuizen.
Lodewicus Theodorus, more commonly known as Louis Oosthuizen, was born in Mossel Bay South Africa in 1982. The talented player belongs to a strong tennis family with his brother and father, both playing tennis at provincial level. It was Louis in their family
who went for golf.
His amateur career was supported finically by The Ernie Els Foundation. Oosthuizen was a member of the foundation since 1999 and received inspiration and help from the World European Tour number one. He won various amateur titles before turning professional
at the age of 19. As an amateur, Louis had six wins. He won the 2000 World Junior Championship as a member of the South African Team. During the championship, Louis played alongside the European Tour member Charl Schwartzel. He also won the 2001 All African
Games (Kenya), 2001 Transvaal Amateur Stroke Play Championship, 2002 Indian Amateur Open Championship, Natal Open Stroke Play Championship and Irish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship.
Turning pro at such a tender age, Louis was very determined to do well in his career. Playing on the sunshine tour, Oosthuizen took away many titles. Just two years after turning pro, he won the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Arabella. In 2007, he
won the Platinum Classic, and Dimension Data Pro-Am. In both 2007 and 2008, Louis won the Telkom PGA Championship.
Having played in the European Challenge in 2003, Louis became affiliated with the European Tour in 2004. Six years after his time on the European Tour, Oosthuizen claimed his first title in March 2010. Oosthuizen won the Open de Andalucía de Golf with a
three stroke advantage over Richard Finch and Peter Whiteford.
Oosthuizen's biggest achievement to date is his victory at the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews. Till this year, Louis had made the cut in one only major championship, which was in PGA Championship 2008.At St .Andrews this year, the South African posted
an opening 65 right behind Rory McIlroy. The 67 that Louis carded on Friday was the table turning score which put him in a lead no one could overcome until the end. A 69 in the third round put Oosthuizen four shots ahead of Paul Casey with one round remaining
to play. In the final round, Casey struggled but things started looking good for Louis as he posted an eagle on the ninth hole. A birdie by Oosthuizen and a triple bogey by Casey gave Louis an eight shot lead.
Finishing the day with a 71, Louis set the second lowest score of 272 in course history. With Lee Westwood come in second place, Oosthuizen became the fourth man from South Africa to take the Claret Jug home. Where Oosthuizen entered the championship ranked
54 in the world rankings, he moved up to the fifteenth position after the final round.
A lot happened for Oosthuizen this year. Where he won twice, he also stepped in a pothole and injured his ankle ligaments. Getting injured right after the Ryder Cup in October, Oosthuizen couldn’t participate in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and
the Grand Slam in Bermuda.
Currently, Louis Oosthuizen is number 22 in the Official World Golf Rankings and is in ninth place in the Race to Dubai List. His 72 place finish in the HSBC Champions wasn’t all that impressive, but this season has been memorable so far. With
his first European Tour win and Major win coming in 2010, Louis surely hopes 2011 will have more victories in store.
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