Oosthuizen Manhandles Field at St. Andrews
At some point during the last few days, the average golf fan posed the question, “Louis who?”
Understandably. Before this British Open, and since turning pro in 2004, Louis Oosthuizen qualified for just eight of the 26 majors. He made the cut just once and on that occasion, he finished last among those who qualified to play the weekend, 29 shots off the lead. What right did he have to take a commanding second-round lead at the home of golf? What right did he have to hold onto that lead through two weekend rounds, and romp in with a seven shot victory?
True, it always helps to start the final round with a four-stroke lead, and it doesn’t hurt when your closest challenger collapses in a heap with a triple bogey on the 12th hole, as Paul Casey did. Some will even say he was the beneficiary of the kindest conditions on Friday – a day when winds gusted so strongly later in the afternoon that they had to halt play because balls were rolling on the putting surface before the players touched them with their putters.
But don’t fall for these illusions, Oosthuizen played smart, especially Sunday when he hit conservative shots, daring the field to catch him. He knew that even if he only parred the course, someone would need to shoot a 67 to beat him, a 68 to tie. Only two players in the entire field shot rounds like that, and they were both too far down the leader board to challenge Oosthuizen, who, in any event shot a 71, making it that much more difficult on the field.
By the time he stood in the 18th fairway, sixty yards from the pin, he knew he only needed to get down in less than nine shots to win his first major. So commanding was his performance that, had he managed to birdie 18, he would have tied Tiger Woods’ record for the biggest winning margin at St. Andrews. “Once I saw the ball in the fairway at 18, I was okay. I mean, I knew I wasn’t going to 10-putt,’’ said Oosthuizen.
The truth is, it was over long before then. Oosthuizen never let anyone get within three shots of him in the final round. He started with seven pretty straightforward pars, before pulling his tee shot on the eight hole, putting himself in a spot of trouble that led to just his first bogey since the first hole of the third round. That opened the door for Casey, who was even for the day to that point, and now just three shots behind. Casey went aggressive on the ninth hole, driving the green, but Oosthuizen calmly followed suit, hitting his drive within 40 feet, and closer than Casey. Casey had a chance to put the pressure on Oosthuizen, but hit a weak eagle putt. This appeared to energize Oosthuizen; he hit an aggressive putt that disappeared into the hole for an eagle and restored his four-shot lead.
Nobody got closer than that again. Three holes later, it was all over when disaster hit Casey on the 12th hole. He launched his tee shot into the gorse bushes and ended with a triple-bogey. Meanwhile, Oosthuizen birdied that hole to move eight shots clear with just six to play. "That eagle on nine, that got me started," Oosthuizen said. "It was a big change on 12 when Paul made triple and I made birdie. All of a sudden, it was mine to throw away."
He didn’t throw it away, finishing with five pars, his lone bogey at the 17th, considered by many to be a de facto par five.
Irish phenom, Rory McIlroy, who started with a 63 on Thursday, then followed with an 80, shot 68 on Sunday to tie for third, eight shots off the lead. “I could’t help but think of Friday going up the last hole. If I had just sort of stuck in a little bit more on Friday and held it together more, it could have been a different story,’’ McIlroy said.
Way out of contention was Tiger Woods, who recently stated that if he had his druthers, he’d play all four majors at this St. Andrews course – not surprising considering his easy victories here in 2000 and 2005. But this week he never looked at ease, and produced only one under-par round and finished at three-under par, 13 shots back of Oosthuizen in 23rd place. He made a couple of early birdies that teased his fans, but double-bogeyed the fourth and seventh holes ending his hopes.
Woods blamed his failures on his putting. He had tried a new putter during the first three rounds to help on St. Andrews slower greens, but reverted back to his old one for the final round, to little effect. “I drove it great all week, hit my irons pretty good and did not putt well, except for the first day,’’ said Woods. “I think I had nine three-putts for the week, so consequently I’m pretty far down the board.”
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