July 18, 2010

Pronounce him the winner of the Open Championship.

The odds stacked against him, Louis Oosthuizen (WHUST’-hy-zin) baffled pundits -- and anyone trying to pronounce his name. Instead, he smiled his way across the Old Course at St. Andrews, posting a 16-under total for a commanding seven-shot victory. Fellow PING staff player Lee Westwood finished solo second at 9 under. The world’s third-ranked player has finished in the top three in four of the past five majors.

Oosthuizen moved to 15th in the world with his 1-under 71 playing a new set of S56 irons and Tour-S Rustique wedges. In winning his first major at age 27, nothing could unnerve the smooth-swinging South African. “My biggest goal of the week was to keep calm,” said Oosthuizen, who led the tournament since early in the second round.

On the pivotal par-4 ninth on Sunday, standing over a 50-foot putt for eagle, the only thing flapping in the St. Andrews gales were his trousers. He drew back his Redwood Anser putter and calmly rolled it in. “That got me started.” For the Open, he tied for third in putting.

He sealed his win on the 12th, where his closest pursuer drove into the gorse and made triple bogey. Meanwhile, Oosthuizen found the fairway, hit the green and rolled in one of his 20 birdies for the week. The four-shot swing gave Oosthuizen a dominating eight-stroke advantage.

The man his friends affectionately call “Shrek” led the field in driving accuracy and tied for fourth in driving distance. He was dialed-in with his new irons and wedges, tying for eighth in greens in regulation.

Oosthuizen’s flawless execution with his Rapture V2 driver over 72 holes prompted one TV commentator to enthuse, “It was one of the finest displays of driving I’ve ever seen in a major tournament.”