Louis Oosthuizen shoots into contention at the opening round of Masters
South African Louis Oosthuizen had a blistering opening round on the first day of the 76th Masters, here at the Augusta National, when he romped past the rest of the field to claim the joint second.
The 2010 Open Champion pulled in a stellar four-under, 68 to settle for the runners up position, trailing Lee Westwood by one stroke.
He said, “It feels good. I tried to just get perfect pace on it.” Oosthuizen remained level-par till the six opening holes on the front nine before falling for his first bogey of the day at the par-four 7th.
He regained composure on the very next hole, pulling in two consecutive birdies before making the turn.
He added, “I played solid after the fifth hole – I made a huge putt on the fifth for par and it got my round going”.
He opened up his back nine with yet another bogey on the 11th and compensated the loss with a birdie on the next.
His last bogey of the day came at par-five, 13th before he went on a birdie spree on the closing holes, much like what Charl Schwartzel did on the final day last year.
He said, “I just tried to watch what Charl did. It needs a lot of patience out there”.
Oosthuizen pulled in four birdies on the last five holes of the round to surge past the rest of the contenders on the field and called it a day for four-under.
The sturdy South African was in contention in Houston last week, where he held the lead after the 54 holes and was over powered by the rampaging Hunter Mahan for the title.
He feels he is in the right form for the first major title of the season and probably his second major victory of his career.
He said, “I came in this week with a lot more confidence. I feel that I’m swinging it well and playing well. There’s a long way to go but it’s a good start”.
Englishman Lee Westwood is currently leading the event by five-under and will be eager to take his opening lead all the way to the final round.
He is one of the top-ranked Englishman who hasn’t won a major title despite of their blistering record.
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