Louis Oosthuizen survives the challenge offered by Augusta National on the second day - Golf News
Louis Oosthuizen survived the challenge offered by the Augusta National Golf Club on the second day of the Masters Tournament and finished at equal par 72 on Friday, April 6, 2012.
Oosthuizen’s start could not have been worse than the double bogey on the second hole of the round. Two consecutive bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes further created problems for the player.
According to him, it was the toughest start he could have imagined at Augusta National. The major reason behind his poor start was the cold weather added with strong winds blowing on the course.
The inconsistent winds and the soft greens created huge troubles for the participants of the first major event of the year.
Even, the eminent players in the game also faltered, carding high scores at the end of the round.
Some of them include Charl Schwartzel, Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods, who added 75 to their scores. Meanwhile, Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker had to suffer 77 on Friday.
However, Oosthuizen did not panic and continuously kept on trying to make the par shots on the front nine.
Later on the back nine, he bounced back strongly with a run of three birdies between the 14th and 17th hole.
“It was so cold this morning. And the wind was all over the place. It was just difficult. But I kept going and hung on,” he said.
“I thought if I could just stay around par for 36 holes that would be OK. Then I made two great birdies at the 16th and 17th. I’m happy with my score after all that,” he further said.
Another player who went off the field with a sigh of relief was the former US Open champion, Graeme McDowell, who carded 72, following his 75 in the opening round.
“This weekend will be an education for me,” McDowell said. “I need to know where my game needs to be coming in here next year. I don’t have an Augusta game right now, even if it works on 90 per cent of the other courses we play”.
The tournament has witnessed a huge shuffling of positions on the leaderboard because of the unpredicted conditions on the course.
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