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 Louis Oosthuizen kisses the Claret Jug after winning the British Open on Saturday. (REUTERS/David Moir) |
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Early on in Sunday’s final round of the British Open, it became clear that the only player in the field who could possibly beat Louis Oosthuizen was Louis Oosthuizen.
With a four-shot lead and a lack of will (or, perhaps, ability) to attack by those in pursuit, the only question was whether Oosthuizen might crack under the pressure that bringing home a major championship can impose on a Sunday afternoon.
Oosthuizen soon answered even that one lingering question with a string of easy pars, appearing as if he was out for a carefree Sunday round with his buddy, Paul Casey.
Then, as Casey got a little too close for comfort, Oosthuizen slapped him back into the mob of also-rans with an emphatic eagle at the par-four ninth. Not today, said Oosthuizen with that 40-foot putt that landed like a dagger between the shoulders of his opponents.
“That was the shot that got me going,” said Oosthuizen. “I played solid til then, but it was still tight. In my mind, I felt I needed one putt to get my rhythm going. Three shots was nothing playing the back nine.”
The back nine was nothing more than a coronation parade around the Old Course, especially after a four-shot swing at the 12th.
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Casey’s tee shot landed in a gorse bush and he would eventually turn that into a triple-bogey seven. Meanwhile, Oosthuizen proceeded to make another birdie putt to run away and hide on the field.
When it was over, Oosthuizen, a 27-year-old journeyman pro from South Africa, with one solitary previous European PGA win under his belt, had won the Claret Jug by seven strokes over Lee Westwood, coming within three strokes of Tiger Woods’s St. Andrews record of 19-under-par set in 2000.
With two holes to play, Oosthuizen was at 17-under and could have tried for the record but, despite the big lead, he wasn’t about to gamble on more birdies with the championship waiting at the 18th green. He played for a bogey at 17 and settled for a safe par at 18.
Casey, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Northern ireland’s Rory McIlroy tied for third place at eight-under-par. The top seven places were taken by European Tour players. Sean O’Hair and Nick Watney were the low Americans at six-under.
“You know, there’s not really even any disappointment,” said Westwood, who wears the dubious crown as “best player never to have won a major.”
“Louis played great and thoroughly deserves the win. If you get close and you lose, then there’s disappointment but I didn’t even get within seven shots today. This is the first time he’s been in contention at a major championship and he tackled everything that was thrown at him like an old pro.”
Oosthuizen freely admits that he can be distracted on the golf course. That’s why he has a red dot on his golf glove and, before every shot, he stops for a moment, stares at that red dot and makes sure his thoughts are focused on the shot at hand.
“I think of all kinds of things,” he said. “And sometimes it’s hard for me to get back in the moment. Whenever I look down and see that dot - that’s my trigger to focus.”
In the end, it was Casey who wilted in the bright spotlight of the final pairing on Sunday at the Open Championship
“You know, it was a frustrating day,” said Casey. “Having said that, even if you take away the mistakes, the bad breaks, the couple of 7’s I made this week, I don’t think it would have been good enough to get near Louis. As disappointed as I am with the way I played today, Louis was in a different league. Hats off to him.”
For Westwood, it was just another top finish in a major without getting the big prize. He continues to knock on the door and, even at the age of 37, he firmly believes he’ll eventually get through it
“I keep putting myself in contention in these majors and keep finishing in the top three,” he said. “It’s not to be sniffed at or complained about. Hopefully one of these chances will turn into a trophy.”