Louis Oosthuizen returns to competition after freak injury
After winning this year’s British Open at St. Andrews by a whopping seven strokes this past July, Louis Oosthuizen was looking to ride his first major victory to some more high finishes
down the stretch.
But instead, the 28-year-old South African was forced to hang up his golfing shoes for a couple of months after suffering a freak ankle injury while on a hunting trip in his native country.
He is playing in his first tournament since the incident this week at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China. While he says his ankle is still bothering him, it didn’t show as he carded an opening round of 69.
"My first round back ... it didn't feel too great, the ankle," said Oosthuizen, currently tied for ninth-place. "I thought if I walk off close to level par, or even 1 or 2 over, it would
be satisfying. I played nicely. Short game was quite good, and just a few shots where I'm very restricted on turning. But I found a way out there."
Oosthuizen’s last tournament was the Dutch Open this past September, where he tied for fourth-place. After that came the hunting trip and the injury. On the first day of the trip, he apparently
fell in a pothole, tearing the ligaments in his left ankle. But he didn’t want to go home so soon.
"It was the first day of the hunting trip, and I strapped it up," he said. "But I properly strapped it up. I felt like I had cement around my ankle, that's how bad I strapped it. So I
was still hunting for another two days, but off my feet."
Doctors told Oosthuizen that his injury would take about four to six weeks to heal, meaning he would be forced to miss the PGA Grand Slam of Golf as well as the Dunhill Links Championship,
which would have been his first return to St. Andrews since the British Open. But right now, he is just happy to be back on the course.
"I just want to get back into playing, and playing solid," he said. "I'm just out there and trying to have fun with everything that's going on with the ankle. I'm still not expecting too
much."
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