Louis Oosthuizen
South Africa
Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen born 19 October 1982 is a South African professional golfer, who won the 2010 Open Championship
Personal information
Full name Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen
Born 19 October 1982 (1982-10-19) (age 29)
Mossel Bay, South Africa
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 159 lb (72 kg; 11.4 st)
Nationality South Africa
Residence Mossel Bay, South Africa
Manchester, England
Career
Turned professional 2002
Current tour(s) European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Professional wins 8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
European Tour 3
Sunshine Tour 6
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament CUT: 2009, 2010
U.S. Open CUT: 2010
The Open Championship Won: 2010
PGA Championship 73rd: 2008
Early life and careerOosthuizen was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa. His early career was supported financially for three years by the foundation of fellow South African Ernie Els. He won numerous amateur titles before turning professional in 2002 at the age of 19.
Oosthuizen at the 2008 Telkom PGA ChampionshipHe has won five professional tournaments on the Sunshine Tour: the 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Arabella, the 2007 Dimension Data Pro-Am and Platinum Classic, and the Telkom PGA Championship twice, in 2007 and 2008. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2003 and has been a member of the European Tour since 2004. In 2009, he finished 31st on the Race to Dubai. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
In March 2010, he won his first European Tour event at the Open de Andalucia de Golf. He also won the 2010 Masters Par 3 Contest.
2010 Open ChampionshipOosthuizen entered the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews ranked 54th in the Official World Golf Rankings, and only having made one cut in eight major championship appearances. He shot a 65 on the first day, placing him in second place, behind a 63 shot by Rory McIlroy.
Oosthuizen's 67 on Friday was the low round of the day and gave him a lead that he would not relinquish throughout the final two rounds. His two-day total of 132 tied the record for the lowest 36-hole score in an Open Championship at St Andrews. A 69 on Saturday placed Oosthuizen at 15-under-par, and four shots clear of second-place Paul Casey with one round to play.
On Sunday, Casey closed the gap to three shots on the 8th hole, before Oosthuizen drove the 9th green and made a long putt for eagle. On the 12th hole, Oosthuizen made birdie, while Casey hit his drive into a gorse bush, and wound up making triple bogey to give Oosthuizen an eight-shot lead. In the end, Oosthuizen shot 71 on Sunday, and 16-under-par 272 for the championship, to win by seven strokes. His 272 was the second lowest in St Andrews history. Casey eventually finished third with Lee Westwood taking second.
Oosthuizen became the fourth man from South Africa to win the Claret Jug - following Bobby Locke, Gary Player, and Ernie Els - and moved to 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings, leapfrogging fellow South African Retief Goosen in 16th position.
Oosthuizen claims his exemplary focus during the tournament, which enabled him to win by a wide margin, was due to a red spot marked on his glove, designed to act as his trigger, in the same way that the referee's whistle concentrates a player's mind in football. He would look at that spot as the beginning of his pre-shot routine and use it as his whistle, remaining totally focused and relaxed before every shot. Oosthuizen had consulted Karl Morris, a Manchester-based sports psychologist, prior to the event for ways in which he could improve his concentration.
sequent career Oosthuizen finished the 2010 season in 10th place on the Race to Dubai, posting three further top-10s after his major win. In January 2011, he claimed his third European Tour title, and his sixth in his home country, winning the Africa Open in a playoff
Player profile is based on the information provided by www.en.wikipedia.org