Archive for July, 2010
July 22, 2010
On the European Tour this week, Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen is right back on the course at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm. As well as the outstanding value on odds to win the Scandinavian Masters - where Robert Karlsson is the local hope and favourite priced 13.28* - Pinnacle are also offering match-ups priced to 102.5%, giving you the best chance to win more on European Tour golf.
European Tour Betting - Oosthizen Makes Quick Return to Action
Surprise Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, has resisted the temptation to rest on his laurels after his amazing performance last week at St.Andrews, and instead has opted to get straight back into action at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm, looking for what would be his third career European Tour title. The South African broke his duck four months ago at the Open de Andalucia, but he’s the talk of the golf world after winning at St. Andrews last week. Despite those heroics Oosthuizen isnt listed as the favourite on the odds to win the Scandinavian Masters with odds of 27.55* in what is a strong international field.
Swede Robert Karlsson (13.28*) is set as the favourite, looking to add an 11th European Tour win, with his latest coming at the Qatar Masters in January. Karlsson was a respectable tied-14 at St.Andrews, and is expected to do well on home soil. Dustin Johnson (16.36*), who is normally seen on the PGA Tour is extending his stay in Europe after finishing alongside Karlsson t-14 at St.Andrews, a result that will give him confidence for the Scandinavian Masters. Another Swede, Peter Hanson (19.39*), was a winner at the Iberdrola Open in May and at this tournament in 2008, putting him in the frame while Edoardo Molinari (22.08*) is worth a look following his success as the Scottish Open two weeks ago.
July 21, 2010
It rained buckets, the wind blew at 40 mph and a thick fog even rolled over the Old Course at one point last week. But those conditions are hardly surprising during the summer at St. Andrews. The performance of South African Louis Oosthuizen clearly was, however. CBSSports.com writers Steve Elling and Ross Devonport go backwards and forwards on the British Open winner and other elements as the season’s third major is put to bed.
Is there any credence to Englishman Ian Poulter’s statement last week that the window of opportunity at major championships for top American players is closing, while prospects for the U.K. contingent look better than ever?
ELLING: In theory, absolutely. In practical terms, it was proven true to at least some degree last week. Poulter reasons that since top American players like Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson are all 40, and the majority of players in the U.K. contingent are just hitting their prime, the time is now for the Brits to hit the gas. With players like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Justin Rose approaching their early-to-mid 30s, it’s hard to find fault with the notion. Last week’s American debacle on the scoreboard seemed to underscore his point. The low Yanks were 10 shots back. Europeans had five of the top six final slots. It’s a small sample size, but it’s rare for top players to get better in their 40s, Vijay Singh notwithstanding. Poulter reckons that the U.K. contingent should pile up a major win per year for the next few seasons or so. He might be flashy, but he is hardly crazy. Biology is biology and time never retreats.
DEVONPORT: In theory, absolutely. In practical terms, it was proven true to at least some degree last week. Poulter reasons that since top American players like Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson are all 40, and the majority of players in the U.K. contingent are just hitting their prime, the time is now for the Brits to hit the gas. With players like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Justin Rose approaching their early-to-mid 30s, it’s hard to find fault with the notion. Last week’s American debacle on the scoreboard seemed to underscore his point. The low Yanks were 10 shots back. Europeans had five of the top six final slots. It’s a small sample size, but it’s rare for top players to get better in their 40s, Vijay Singh notwithstanding. Poulter reckons that the U.K. contingent should pile up a major win per year for the next few seasons or so. He might be flashy, but he is hardly crazy. Biology is biology and time never retreats.
Two-thirds of the way through the season, Tiger Woods hasn’t threatened to win a single tournament. Will it ever be the same?
ELLING: After switching golf balls in his previous start, another red flare was fired last week when Woods benched a putter he used to win 13 of 14 majors and roughly $100 million in global earnings. He seems to be looking for answers and none are forthcoming. He putted like a lower-tier tour player last week, not the world No. 1, a continuation of his form of the entire season. With no swing coach, Woods somehow looked somewhat better from tee to green, but what happens if he elects to add a new teaching guru later this year? Does that mean another lengthy transition and spotty performances for a year, like with Hank Haney? He turns 35 in December. The meter is running. Whats worrisome is that putting is such a psychological exercise. Frankly, over the past two seasons, it seems to be getting worse for Woods on the greens, not better. Anybody got Dave Stockton’s number?
DEVONPORT: Golfers like myself out there know that the course is where you go to get away from the pressures of life, so I just have a feeling that Woods’ struggles this season are more down to his general stubbornness than his off-the-course issues. But while he just seems lost at the moment, I think he’ll turn it around eventually. There’s no way he can just continue to make ball and club tweaks here and there and expect that to get his game back on track, and I can see someone eventually finding their way into Woods’ circle of trust and helping him right the universe once more. Golf just hasn’t been the same since Tiger started to struggle, and while watching Louis O. take it home on Sunday was memorable, how great would it have been to have Woods five back heading into the final round rather than Casey? Yes, he might be 35, but Tiger still has plenty to learn.
Where did Louis Oosthuizen’s command performance rate relative to recent majors and what can we expect from him?
ELLING: The crystal ball portion about his future is anybody’s guess, but he certainly proved that he’s long enough and cool enough to handle tough courses and extreme pressure. Sure, he was winning in a runaway for most of Sunday, but the kid was smiling and laughing his way around for four days, impervious to the rigors of the British Open demands and charming everybody in his wake. His golf swing is fluid and generates tons of power. For a relatively small country, South Africa keeps cranking out players, with Oosthuizen and junior-golf pal Charl Schwartzel standing next in line. Trevor Immelman, who won the 2008 Masters and has been battling a hand injury, is hardly out of the mix, either. Hard as it sounds to believe, Oosthuizen showed more upside than either of those two more well-know countrymen, who are also in his same general age bracket. It was the most one-sided butt-kicking since Tiger shellacked the field at the British Open by eight shots a decade ago, en route to a wraparound Grand Slam. Oosthuizen, 27, showed not a single weakness over four days on the Old Course. It was akin to euthanasia: He put the field, and more than a few viewers, to sleep. He was that dominant. I hope people actually watched and weren’t put off by the lopsidedness or the fact that the Americans were hopelessly out of contention. He put on a show.
DEVONPORT: I admit, Steve, I turned my TV off after Casey’s triple and Oosty’s birdie at the 12th, but I obviously had a slight rooting interest in that matter. However, I did turn it back on for the last couple of holes because there’s nothing quite like that walk up 18 at the Open Championship, no matter how many shots you are ahead. While you’re supposed to putt for dough, Oosthuizen proved at St. Andrews that you can also drive for it as well. I just hope he doesn’t vanish into mediocrity like past upset winners Todd Hamilton and Paul Lawrie, but as you say, the son of a farmer did have some buzz around him a few years ago when he initially joined the European Tour, so I think he might be able to stick around the spotlight for a while like his buddy, Ernie Els, who won his second major title at the age of 27. Anyone who can hold onto a lead of any kind f deserves a ton of respect, and he just seems to be a genuinely nice guy to boot. Here’s hoping Shrek can build on this victory and join the Big Easy as one of the game’s great talents for years to come.
July 21, 2010
Mark OMeara withdrew from the Senior British Open at Carnoustie on Tuesday following the death of his father Bob at the age of 81.
The 53-year-old OMeara, a two-time major winner, cut short his two-week visit to Scotland to fly home to Florida and be with his family.
Bob OMeara had heart surgery in April for an aortic aneurysm, but was taken to a hospital last week because of an infection.
“The last week has been a rollercoaster for me,” OMeara said before leaving Scotland. “I found out last Saturday that my dad was in intensive care and had been in dire straits at the weekend.”
Although he knew of the illness, OMeara played two rounds of the British Open at St. Andrews before missing the cut by one shot.
“I played the British Open last week as I know my dad would have wanted me to be at St. Andrews. We played there together 18 years ago and had a lot of fun.
“As a son who loves his father very much I am going to go back to help my sisters. Its time to go home.”
July 19, 2010
The clipped accent and animated tone on the other end of the phone was immediately recognizable.
Especially if you are a native South African.
Louis Oosthuizen completes the biggest margin of victory in the Open since Tiger Woods in 2000. (AP) Particularly if you know anything about golf in that nation.
Louis Oosthuizens phone rang before the final round of the British Open on Sunday morning, and the man on the other end of the line didnt need to identify himself. His voice, especially to a fellow native son, is unmistakable.
Gary Player, one of five men to have won the career Grand Slam and the most successful international player of all time, called the 27-year-old before he ventured onto the Old Course in what was unquestionably the biggest exam of his life.
“Have a good day, be patient, the crowd will be against you,” Player advised, according to Oosthuizens agent. “But dont worry, they were always against me, so use it as your motivation.” In retrospect, Players semi-paranoid pep talk was entirely unnecessary, because if all of the United Kingdom had conspired to pull against the easygoing South African, if not tackle him like it was a bruising rugby match, it wouldnt have mattered.
“He is a cool customer,” Charl Schwartzel said.
Oosthuizen iced English playing partner Paul Casey and everybody else at St. Andrews, proving unflappable in high winds and impervious to whatever else Mother Nature and the games ancient ghosts threw at him, winning by a commanding seven shots and shaking off every challenge with a smirk or a laugh.
Saturday morning, after sleeping on the 36-hole lead, Oosthuizen called over his friend Schwartzel, a pal from their junior-golf days in South Africa, shortly before Louis teed off in the final group of the day. He had some comedy video clips he was watching.
“He was showing me things on his iPhone,” said Schwartzel, who waited three hours to congratulate his buddy behind the 18th green. “He was laughing, and it was an hour before he teed off. Hes so relaxed.”
It didnt change much Sunday, when some might have expected his day to turn into a horror flick. Despite having made the cut at just one of his previous eight major championships, Oosthuizen gave the Old Course some gray hairs and turned a lengthy St. Andrews trend on its ear. The last player to win his first major at St. Andrews was the late Tony Lema in 1964, and the site has hosted seven British Opens since.
Instead of folding, he joined solid-gold St. Andrews winners like Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. Do they blow vuvuzelas at golf tournaments? After this week, maybe they should, because it was a blowout all the way around.
He came within one of matching history. Woods won at St. Andrews by eight shots, a modern-era British Open record, during his stellar stretch of four consecutive major-championship wins in 2000. Oosthuizen flirted with that mark all day before he bogeyed the 17th.
Player, who was in St. Andrews all week, explained Sunday that his speech to Oosthuizen was based on his experiences at the 1961 Masters, when he battled Arnold Palmer and was a huge underdog.
“He was Americas hero and there were 15,000 people there, and one person, my wife, and my dog, pulling for me,” Player cracked.
By midday, the only thing left for anybody in the gallery was to root for the runners-up. American Jeff Overton, who this week finished T11 in his first trip to St. Andrews, played with the largely unknown Oosthuizen both Thursday and Friday. Somewhat comically, earlier in the week, when I asked Overton who hed been paired with, he drew a complete blank on the South Africans name.
Join the club. Seven days later, hes completely sold on the guys talent.
“Oh, yeah, he played great, hes a first-class guy, the whole deal,” Overton gushed. “He hits it straight, he hits it long, and he hit some good shots around the greens, some of those cutesy little wedges and chips you need to score around here.
“Really, hats off to the guy. It was awesome.”
Oosthuizen, a product of the South African Tour, had one victory on a major circuit in his career, and it came earlier this year at the Andalucian Open, a middle-tier event on the European Tour. This week, he played a lot like the thr Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els. Oosthuizen was a benefactor of Els junior golf program growing up, just like Schwartzel, the least gobsmacked player at what transpired this week.
“I am definitely not surprised, definitely not surprised,” said Schwartzel, who was a groomsman in Oosthuizens wedding. “He has always been capable of shooting low scores. Hes the type of guy when he gets going, he gets so much confidence.
“He is not a really jittery guy. He is a quite calm, you need to be calm when you are at a championship like this.”
He never even blinked at the complete annihilation of his name, either, which might be the most butchered surname in major-championship history. When asked, he articulated the correct pronunciation this week as West-hi-zin, but everybody seemed determined to mangle it as they saw fit, be it the BBC, ESPN or myriad other outlets broadcasting the worlds oldest major.
Can a guy become a household name when nobody can pronounce it? We might get to find out, based on the performance he put on this week, making the wind-blown Old Course seem like a pasture. Given that his parents are humble dairy farmer in South Africa, that analogy is certainly apt.
Countryman Trevor Immelman said Friday night that he was surprised only that it had taken so long for Oosthuizen to insert himself into the mix at a big event. Sunday, he was asked to expound on that sentiment.
“Well, hes that good,” shrugged Immelman, the 2008 Masters winner. “Because hes got all the shots. So it was really just a matter of time.”
He was proven dead right Sunday, because no matter what Casey threw at Oosthuizen, he dodged and countered. Sailing along with nary a worry, he made his first bogey in a 24-hole stretch after missing the eighth green, trimming the lead over Casey to three. Casey then bashed his tee ball on the short, par-4 ninth onto the green, but Oosthuizen didnt waver.
He walloped his drive onto the green, too. After Casey lagged to about seven feet for birdie, Oosthuizen slammed home a 40-footer, the biggest shot of the week, to reclaim a four-shot lead with nine to play. Casey triple-bogeyed the 12th and it was all over but the arithmetic and coronation march down the final hole.
The day marked the 92nd birthday of a South African icon, and last November, Sunday was declared the International Day of Nelson Mandela by the United Nations decree. The happy kid who answers to the nickname Shrek stole some thunder from the countrys legendary statesman.
He added his name to a list of heavyweights in his sport, too. This month, ran a story about the next great South African player: Schwartzel. Oosthuizen got there first.
“It has always been Ernie and Retief [Goosen] as of late,” Schwartzel said. “Its like a new generation coming and thats what we need to show, there are new youngsters coming through capable of winning big events and taking over … to find foot leverage.”
It became a boot in the Old Courses backside.
July 19, 2010
It was the season teed up perfectly for the No. 1 golfer in the world, and Tiger Woods came away with no jack.
No closing the gap on Jack Nicklaus, that is.
Tiger Woods Sunday red hasnt signaled victory since last season. (Getty Images) With the years first three major championships staged on the venues where both Woods and Nicklaus each won exactly half of their major titles, the numbers havent moved.
Masters at Augusta National: T4. No legitimate threat. U.S. Open at Pebble Beach: T4. No Sunday charge. British Open at St. Andrews: T23. No renewed dominance.
How disappointed is Woods that he failed to make hay on the fields he has previously plowed through?
“The good news is Ive won half my majors on these venues, too,” Woods quipped as he exited the podium.
So Woods will take his glass half full to Whistling Straits for the PGA Championship next month to avoid getting skunked in majors for the second consecutive season. He didnt show much form in his 2004 trip on the faux links on Lake Michigan at that PGA, finishing tied for 24th
Zero-for-10 isnt exactly what was expected of the script in his so-called “prime” years of 33 and 34. When he won his 14th major on a broken leg at the 2008 U.S. Open, people pretty much assumed he would catch all the way up to Nicklaus 18 by this year or next at the latest with the preferred venues lined up like sitting ducks.
Then again, nobody saw the extended knee rehab followed by a worldwide tabloid scandal that derailed the good vibes that Woods coasted on for 13 years. First, he loses his first fourth-round PGA lead to unheralded Y.E. Yang at Hazeltine, then flushes every obvious opportunity in 2010.
Woods walked away grumbling about his putting and swapping out new blades like average hacks in search of a spark.
“Driving-wise, better than its been in years. Iron play, not quite as sharp as I need to have it. And my putting is way off,” he said.
“I believe I had like nine three-putts for the week, so consequently Im pretty far down the board. … Its ironic that as soon as I start driving it on a string, I miss everything. Maybe I should go back to spraying it all over the lot and make everything.”
Bri scorecard Oosthuizen runs away with victory at St. Andrews Elling: Add another name to S. African golf history Tiger goes back to old putter for final round at Open
Truth except for the spraying part. After breaking off an 11-year relationship with his trusty Scotty Cameron to test drive a new Nike Method putter on the Old Courses massive and slow greens, Woods sought comfort in his old friend on Sunday.
“I just felt that my speed was off, and just going back to something where I know how it comes off,” he said of putting his old putter back in play.
The rekindled relationship got off to a hot start, with Woods making birdie on two of the first three holes to pop onto the leaderboard in sixth place well before the runaway leaders teed off. A couple more and his presence might have sent a chill to Louis Oosthuizen and the other leaders.
But double bogeys on 4 and 7 ended that pipe dream.
“I knew the start I needed to get off to,” Woods said. “I was 2 under through 3, and if I could somehow make three on 4 and somehow a birdie or an eagle on 5, thats what could have happened, thats what I felt like. But obviously that didnt ha where and season.
“If I got something going, I would somehow find a way to stop the momentum,” he said.
Woods said he doesnt know which putter will show up with him the next time he plays in the WGC event at Firestone. Then comes the PGA with the marketing slogan “Glorys Last Chance.” Its Tigers last shot as well to avoid another lost season and resume the notion that catching Nicklaus is attainable.
He shrugged it off Sunday with his new favorite terms like practicing and building and getting better.
“Thats just the way it goes,” he said about another missed opportunity on a course he has dominated on twice before. “Im not going to win all of them. Ive lost a lot more than Ive won.”
Thats getting more common by the year.
Augusta Chronicle.
July 18, 2010
On the windy seaside links at historic St. Andrews, the army of Americans came ashore full of confidence, strong in numbers and, given their history hereabouts, fairly assured about the outcome.
Then they red, white and blew it.
Going a long way toward validating the opinions of a particularly vocal European star and one of his wisecracking countrymen, the Sons of Uncle Sam cried uncle on Saturday at the British Open, when it became clear that the Yanks wont be around when the claret jug is handed to the winner on Sunday night.
Theres nothing pretty about what Phil Mickelson and the Yanks are doing at St. Andrews. (AP) Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood all but predicted it in various fashion this week as players prepped for their week on the Old Course, American dominance be damned.
Poulter, No. 8 in the world rankings, raised some eyebrows when he told a Scottish newspaper that the American window of dominance at major championships was closing because the majority of the top U.S. stars are already in their 40s.
Fellow Englishman Lee Westwood, in a hilarious barb offered at a heavily attended journalism awards banquet on Tuesday night, congratulated PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem on Steve Strickers win last week at the John Deere Classic and said, “Lovely to see an American win on your tour.”
Northern Irelands McDowell, noting that the European Tour has made an annual stop at St. Andrews over the past few years, sagely predicted the familiarity would give tour members yet another advantage.
The 54-hole scorecard: So far, the three are spot-on, as they say over here, and ESPN is probably asking for a rights-fee refund. The leaderboard is littered with Europeans who are seeking to win a second consecutive major championship on the heels of McDowells victory last month at the U.S. Open, a win that snapped a 40-year Euro drought in that event and seemingly raised group expectations to ye who went 31 starts at major championships back-to-back Grand Slam wins for the second time in three years.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. It started as the British Open, but is starting to look more like the Madrid Masters.
“Its been a strong spring and summer for European golf,” said Swedens Henrik Stenson, who is tied for fourth. “A lot of players have played well and were going to have an extremely strong Ryder Cup team this fall. As you can see, Im trying my very hardest to try and make sure I get there.”
He and a legion of others. Though South Africas surprisingly stoic Louis Oosthuizen is leading by four, Europeans occupy the next five positions and the closest American is a whopping nine shots back.
Europeans have won six times on the PGA Tour already this year, including a pair by Justin Rose. The world rankings, not to mentio the color of the European flag at Ryder Cup matches.
British Open Related links Michaux: Casey hoping for major breakthrough Round 3 recap: Oosthuizen leads by four, Casey closest Leaderboard | British Open coverage | Open history Round 2 recap: Oosthuizen surges before wind arrives
Ten of the top 19 players in the world rankings are from Europe, including five from England alone. There are six Americans in the same rankings slot and only one, Anthony Kim, is in his 20s.
Still, it was hard to envision such a letdown coming into St. Andrews, which is touted as the home of golf. It has indeed been a home away from home for the Americans, who had won six of the past eight British Opens staged at the Old Course and seven of the past 10 overall. Since World War II, the Yanks have won seven of 12 at the Old Course, a list of winners that includes stars like Sam Snead and two-timers Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Europeans had managed two wins since 1946.
At midday, the electronic scoreboard featured one American name. By the end of play, Dustin Johnson, Sean OHair and Nick Watney moved into the group of 11 players tied for eighth or better, although mostly through the attrition of others around them.
Poulter threw down the gauntlet earlier in the week when he told the that the American era is winding down because the star players who have been top-10 staples in the recent past, like Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Stricker and Kenny Perry, are already in their 40s. Woods, beset by putting issues, is probably the worlds oldest 34-year-old given his four knee surgeries and manifold personal issues.
“The American guys who have won all the tournaments over the past few ye can he do what Vijay [Singh] did in his 40s? Hes strong enough; its whether he is hungry enough, I guess.
“The talent to replace them is very young and needs a bit more experience, so we have a 15-year window. The Americans have a gap and that gap is being filled by European guys right now, guys who are in their late 20s, early 30s and who are doing the job right now.
“In five years time we should have taken a few majors. I dont want to put a number on it but the [English] guys that are in the top 40 in the world are all capable of winning them. Its for us to go out there and prove it but we can certainly win one or two a year, for sure.”
Stenson was Johnson, OHair and Watney are all in their 20s and have multiple wins.
“Whether some of the American players are [old] or not, age seems to be not that big of an issue, given how Tom Watson played last year in this championship and when Kenny Perry gets on those hot streaks, he seems to be unstoppable,” he said.
“It comes and goes, form comes and goes, and if you look at all the players over a long perspective, everybody goes through ups and downs. But sure, its been a good summer for Europe.”
Summer has barely started and theres a certain biennial event this fall in Wales, a proposition that is looking more difficult for the Yanks by the day. Somewhere in a nearby St. Andrews hotel room, European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie was kicking up his heels and enjoying every televised minute.
“If you have a look at the world rankings, there are a lot of Europeans up there at the moment, a lot of youngsters, and I think Colin Montgomerie is very happy about that,” said Germanys Martin Kaymer, who is No. 13 in the world. “I think its great for the European golf, and you can see that European players suit those conditions more than the Americans.
“I think in Wales this year, I hope its going to be bad weather to be honest.”
Just what the Americans need, more dark clouds.
July 18, 2010
Louis Oosthuizen still remembers getting together with other kids from the Ernie Els Foundation to watch highlights of their hero winning the British Open at Muirfield in 2002.
The shot out of a pot bunker on the 13th. His birdie on the 17th to tie for the lead. The bunker shot on the 18th hole to win the longest sudden-death playoff ever in a British Open.
“We were actually getting goose bumps,” Oosthuizen said. “Just seeing that … youre always thinking, I hope that happens to me.”
British Open Columns Steve Elling
The Sons of Uncle Sam cried uncle Saturday, as it became clear the Yanks wont be around when the claret jug is handed to the winner Sunday. More >> Related links Leaderboard | British Open coverage | Open history Michaux: Casey hoping for major breakthrough Round 2 recap: Oosthuizen surges it just might.
After opening with a three-putt bogey, Oosthuizen played with remarkable poise on another windswept afternoon at St. Andrews. He never dropped another shot, never stopped smiling, and finished with a drive onto the 18th green for one last birdie and a 3-under 69.
It gave him a four-shot lead over Paul Casey and put him one round away from becoming the first player in 46 years to capture his first major championship at the home of golf.
This, from a player who had only made it to the weekend one time in eight previous majors. From a South African who had never won on the European Tour until four months ago.
“I dont think anyone was thinking I was going to be up there,” Oosthuizen said. “Youve heard yourself, no one can actually say my surname, so they dont even know who I am out there. Its great being up there. I just want to enjoy everything about it. I loved it out there. It was great fun for me. And hopefully, tomorrow will be the same.”
Gary Player left him a message at his hotel. Els called Saturday morning for support, telling Oosthuizen to enjoy himself on a stage like no other in golf. Eight years after leaving the Els foundation, Oosthuizen still follows his instructions.
Oosthuizen was at 15-under 201. A victory Sunday would make him the first player since Tony Lema in 1964 to win his first major at St. Andrews.
“The Open at St. Andrews would be something special,” Oosthuizen said. “Its one of those things you dream of.”
Everyone kept waiting for him to fold, and the final test in the third round came on his second shot to the 17th green, where the pine was planted perilously behind the Road Hole bunker. With a slightly uphill lie, Oosthuizen couldnt bounce the ball away from the bunker and onto the green. So he played it safe, riding a 5-iron with right-to-left wind, keeping it between the bunker in front of the green and road behind it. He didnt mind that it ran through the green and onto the 18th tee, just as Casey was preparing to hit his tee shot.
Casey smiled. Lee Westwood walked over to the ball and acted as if he was going to smash the ball back at Oosthuizen.
The way hes playing, even that might not have stopped him at St. Andrews.
“Im loving the fact Im playing absolutely great golf and Im four shots behind Louis,” Casey said.
Casey went out in 31 when the wind was at its strongest, and mostly into his face. He finished off a bogey-free round of 67 that puts him in the final group of a major for the first time. He was at 11-under 205.
It might be a two-man race between players who have never seriously challenged in a major. In fact, none of the six players within nine shots of the lead have won a major.
Oosthuizen was seven shots clear of Martin Kaymer of Germany, who had were Henrik Stenson (67), Alejandro Canizares (71) and Westwood (71), who didnt make a birdie on the front nine but did well to at least stay in the game.
Americans have won six of the last eight Opens at St. Andrews, but they have disappeared in this one. Dustin Johnson birdied his last two holes for a 69 and was nine shots behind.
Tiger Woods, who won the last two times at St. Andrews by a combined 13 shots, has never been within four shots of the lead all week, and he wasnt and three-putted for par on three of them to shoot 73. He was 12 shots behind, sure to match his longest start to the season without a victory in his seventh tournament.
“Im playing better than my position,” said Woods, who was tied for 18th. “I certainly have had a lot more putts on the greens than I ever have, and thats something that has basically kept me out of being in the final few groups.”
Phil Mickelson, who had a chance at the start of the week to go to No. 1 in the world, was another shot behind. Whatever momentum he had was lost with a 5-iron that he hooked out-of-bounds for a double bogey on No. 16 for a 70.
The South African heritage at golfs oldest championship dates to Bobby Locke winning four times in a nine-year stretch after World War II. Player won the claret jug three times, and Els was the most recent in 2002.
Oosthuizen, whose career was made possible by the Ernie Els Foundation at Fancourt, had to wait 28 hours from his last putt on Friday to his opening shot Saturday.
“It felt like a week-and-a-half,” he said.
He promptly three-putted for bogey as his lead shrunk to two shots. Considering it was only the second time he made it to the weekend at a major, it looked as though it wouldnt be long before he wilted from the pressure. It was his only bogey. He picked up his first birdie on the seventh hole, then added a surprise birdie late in his round with a the largest 54-hole lead the real test comes Sunday.
Casey ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch early in his round, and he got as close as one-shot with a two-putt birdie on the ninth. But he had to settle for nothing better than par on the back nine, missing a 5-foot birdie on the 18th.
“Im having a great time, and Im going to go out there tomorrow and enjoy myself and have a good attitude,” Casey said. “I know what this golf course can do. It can give you some great moments, and it can give you some horrible ones.”
A few weird moments, too.
Miguel Angel Jimenez added another highlight to the infamous Road Hole when he turned his back on the green and banged a shot off the waist-high wall, where it caromed back over the road, up a slope and onto the green.
Mark Calcavecchia wound up with a quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 fifth hole when he hit into a gorse bush, played a provisional for a lost ball, picked up his provision shot when he heard the ball was found, then learned that the ball wasnt his. That explains his 77, which sent the 50-year-old tumbling down the leaderboard.
Woods also hit into the gorse for a bogey on the fifth. On the next hole, he hit a low shot to the front of the green for a birdie chance, but the wind blew it some 20 yards back into the fairway before he got there.
Moments like those might be enough to give Westwood hope.
Johnson had a three-shot lead going into the final round of the U.S. Open and shot 82. The largest comeback in British Open history is 10 shots by Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie, but that required a debacle by Jean Van De Velde on the last hole.
“Strange things have been hap we know that. It depends on the weather. If its a miserable, windy day, anything can happen. But Louis and Paul look like they are playing well.”
July 17, 2010
Soggy by the seashore after three straight days of rain, what better player to emerge at the top of the Old Course swamp than a guy with perhaps the funniest nickname in professional golf.
Maybe its the gap-toothed grin or the large ears. Either way, easygoing South African Louis Oosthuizen answers to the nickname of “Shrek,” the lovable ogre of cinematic cartoon fame.
“Its the gap in the teeth,” he said. “My friends say I look like Shrek, some of my friends, and you cant choose your friends, so what can I say?”
Largely unknown in the United States, Oosthuizen is writing yet another British Open fairy tale, hoping to become the latest in a series of unheralded winners at the oldest of golfs major championships after taking the early lead Friday at 12 under par.
The 27-year-old briefly used a headcover of the cartoon ogre, before his caddie somehow convinced him that it was bringing him bad luck. Of course, at least Shrek is a name that everybody can pronounce.
It has been cringe-inducing listening to the various news outlets absolutely butcher his surname this week, if not his first name, which is pronounced Louie, not Lewis.
Weve heard Oost-Hu-Zen, Oost-Hi-Zen, and ESPN has struggled with the broadcast in the States with about three different variations on those themes. Perhaps worst of a during on by an R&A official as “Peter Oosterhuizen,” doubtlessly confusing him with former English great and longtime CBS broadcaster Peter Oosterhuis.
For the record, straight from the horses mouth, its West-Hi-Zen, and dont even get us going on his full name, which is actually Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen, after his grandfather. Address him by that name and you will get the cold shoulder or a sock in the nose.
“I wont talk to them if they call me that,” he laughed.
He continues like this, he will be a house Oosthuizen tied two Hall of Famers for the lowest 36-hole score in the British Opens played on the Old Course at 132, matching the halfway play of Greg Norman and Nick Faldo.
Thats stronger than the onshore breeze, especially considering that Oosthuizen had made exactly one of eight cuts at his previous major championships. Being a pretty laid-back guy, he didnt get mad when he was half-seriously asked whether he had secured a return ticket for Friday night.
“I was a little more confident than that,” he laughed, flashing his Tom Watson smile. “I booked a house through Sunday night.”
It was a reasonable, if slightly brash, question. In missed cuts this year at the Masters and U.S. Open, his best round was a 74. In fact, his résumé is fairly modest, with four wins on the South African tour. Earlier this season at a middle-tier event in Spain, he claimed his first European Tour title.
Before the guys over age 50 began stealing the thematic spotlight at the past three Opens, the British ran through an occasional string of mostly obscure winners, starting with journeyman Scottish pro Paul Lawrie in 1999, American rookie Ben Curtis in 2003 and Japan Tour player Todd Hamilton in 2004. In particular, Lawrie and Hamilton have struggled to validate their major victories, not that its required.
Oosthuizen is part of the next wave of South African players, a member of the same peer group as Charl Schwartzel, a two-time European Tour winner this year and his former roommate when traveling on the junior circuit. Oosthuizen played in Ernie Els developmental foundation for three years starting at age 17 and turned pro immediately afterward.
Louis Oosthuizen plays through varying weather conditions during the second round, including spots of rain. (Getty Images) The son of a farmer, Oosthuizen said it was doubtful his family would have had the financial resources to play the traveling junior circuit, which was crucial to his early development. As any farmers son knows, money doesnt grow on trees, no matter how big the orchard.
“It was unbelievable what [Els] did for me traveling around the country, helping with expenses, things like that,” Oosthuizen said. “You know, hes such a good mentor, and probably without him, those three years Ive been in his foundation, I wouldnt have been here.”
Maybe, maybe not, because the guy can certainly go low. At age 20, he shot an incredible 14-under 57 in a practice round at his home club, Mossel Bay, in South Africa. Not surprisingly, his website is www.louis57oosthuizen.com.
At a solid No. 54 in the world rankings, Oosthuizen easily laughed off the references to his not-so-tidy Grand Slam outings in the past. After winning in Spain four months ago for the first time on a truly major tour, everything feels different now.
There was an apt exchange between Shrek and Princess Fiona in the original movie in the popular series, where shes trying to get him to more aggressively attack a pesky dragon.
“Youre meant to charge in, sword drawn, banner flying,” Fiona said. “Thats what all the other knights did.”
“Yeah, right before they burst into flame,” Shrek said sarcastically.
After making his second cut in nine majors, maybe Oosthuizen is ready to slay some fire-breathers, too.
“Yeah, it wasnt very great, was it?” he laughed of his majors history. “But like I said, again, it was a matter of not believing in myself, I think. Everyone around here is telling me, Youve got the shots, youre playing well, and again, that win earlier this season just got my mind set in a different way.”
July 17, 2010
Another old champion was making the morning headline the 1989 Open winner in a playof charged into the picture with a second-round 67 that put him in the thick of the leaderboard. After turning 50 in June, Calc adds the latest chapter in whats becoming the same “old” story at the British Open on the heels of fellow seniors Tom Watson and Norman making deep runs in the past two years.
Mark Calcavecchia is trying to recapture his mojo from 1989, when he won the Open at Royal Troon. (Getty Images) “Well, Ive been feeling ancient and royal for a long time,” Calcavecchia said of his new age flight that will have him playing in the Senior British Open next week across the water at Carnoustie.
Like everyone else his age, Calc got a boost from seeing Watson come within a closing par of winning at age 59 last year at Turnberry. The vibe seems to be contagio as they toil to put the “old” in the Old Course this weekend.
“Obviously you see a guy like Tom Watson last year almost winning at 60 because hes playing well and he had confidence,” Calc said. “It doesnt really matter how old you are if youre feeling good about what youre doing. I think old guys can hang with the young guys.”
Calcavecchia, who like many seniors is an early riser, was first off the tee at 6:30 a.m. Friday when the sun was actually out briefly before the rains hit. It was the perfect pole position for him to catch a spark and keep rolling.
“The R&A is nice enough to know that I like to play fast and they certainly know Im not going to hold anybody up,” he said. “But that was the first time I actually hit it first. So yeah, thats pretty cool.”
Birdies at 4 and 5 got him going and then he had another combo at 12 and 13 to jump onto the leaderboard. His birdie on the last took him into the clubhouse at 7 under. That prime position was thanks in large part to a rare eagle on the Road Hole late Thursday that put him in red figures.
“Its a good spot to be,” he said. “I didnt really think about where I was going to be in the tournament. Theres still six hours of tee times left for the day. Im just happy to have a tee time tomorrow.”
The aches and pains that have troubled him through the years are pretty mild compared to his new peers, though Calc tries to mask the hurt by applying medicinal strips on his various achy spots, including his arthritic ring finger, sore wrist and a bone spur in his heel.
“Eights my record,” he said of the pain remedies that have dotted his body at one time.
But Calcavecchia feels like a spry rookie now that he has seen the company that awaits him on the Champions Tour.
“The few weeks I did play on the Champions Tour it was kind of interesting,” he said. “Bob Tway had a kink in his shoulder. Stads [Craig Stadler] has got no left hip left. Everybody is falling apart. I really do feel outstanding compared to a lot of these guys.”
When he won his only major title at the ripe young age of 29, Calc could not have imagined senior golfers being such a significant factor regularly in the games biggest events.
“I thought 50-year-olds were pretty damn old when youre 30 or when youre a kid,” he said. “Your parents are 50. Youre like, How can anybody be that old? But now that youre 50, you really dont think about what you were thinking about when youre 30. I havent grown up any. I may feel 50 or 60, but inside Im still 30.”
Calc still likes to spend his evenings having a few pints in the local pubs to stay loose and keep things interesting. On the course he has his wife, Brenda, caddying for him, which keeps him calm for the most part.
“We have fun together doing it most of the time,” he said. “The times we dont its entirely my fault. If things are going bad and I start getting bitchy, theres not much she can do to slow me down once I kind of get over the edge. But for the most part we always have a good time.”
This is not a new experience for the couple. Brenda began the caddie routine in 2006 at Hoylake, and Calcavecchia was contending among the top 10 at 9 under through three rounds before a Sunday 80 dropped him to 41st.
“It was just a great week,” she said. “He really did have a chance to win.”
The highlight moment on Sunday was when a streaker ran by them as they walked up the 18th hole. Brenda used a picture of the tawdry scene on their Christmas card. With atmosphere like that as a bonus, his wife has been caddying in the Opens for him ever since to conserve both money and energy.
“Im walking 18 holes with him no matter what and Im always talking to him during the round,” she said. “And hell usually talk back.”
His wife can say things to Calc that no regular caddie could get away with, like telling him to pull his head out of his you-know-what.
“What other guy is going to say that to him?” she said. “Sometimes thats just what he needs. He knows it but no caddie is going to say that to him. They dont want to get fired. Sometimes I wish Id get fired.”
It isnt always so easy carrying a tour bag for 18 holes on a links course. Walking the little footpath to the ninth tee in the second round at Turnberry last year, Brenda took a misstep and felt a surge of pain in her right foot. She never said a word about it the rest of the round and soldiered on.
Later that night she told her mother she believed her foot was broken, but she didnt want to let Calc down even though the busted foot required a knee-high boot cast for nine weeks after they got home.
“I just sucked it up for two more days,” she said. “I tied my shoe as tight as I could and after three holes you never felt it, really.”
Theyll feel no pain if things keep improving this weekend. Though Calcs history in Opens at the Old Course has never been impressive, a big check at the end would go a long way toward paying off the new family mansion with the two-lane bowling alley they recently built in Jupiter, Fla.
“I havent done anything spectacular here for sure, but I love the tournament,” he said. “Its not the courses fault that I didnt play good in those other years. But Ive been playing decent really the last month or so, and its carrying over.”
The rest of the field should know by now to beware these old dogs playing new sticks on these ancient links.
Augusta Chronicle.
July 16, 2010
The Old Course was defenseless and no one took advantage of it more than Rory McIlroy.
The 21-year-old from Northern Ireland tied the major championship record Thursday by shooting a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open.
One of golfs brightest prospects, McIlroy started his romp with an eagle at the 352-yard ninth, where he drove the green and rolled in the putt. He then made six birdies on the homeward holes for a 30 that tied the tournaments back-nine record.
McIlroy became only the eighth player to go so low at the British Open, equaling a mark from 17 years ago by the late Payne Stewart at Royal St. George. Overall, just 22 players have shot 63 in one of the four major tournaments, including Greg Norman and Vijay Singh, who each did it twice.
The last to do it: Tiger Woods at the 2007 PGA Championship. The worlds No. 1 player wasnt quite as sharp to start this major, but a 67 put him in the thick of things.
Woods and everyone else were chasing McIlroy, who missed the cut at the first two majors of the year but began to live up to his enormous potential with his first PGA Tour win at Quail Hollow.
“I didnt get off to a flying start,” McIlroy said. “The eagle on 9 really sort of turned things around for me, and I just got going from there. It was great to get into the rhythm of the round and get into a flow. And yeah, it was a very pleasant round of golf.”
McIlroy had a chance to claim the record all to himself.
A brilliant approach at No. 17, the famed “Road Hole,” left him with a 5-footer for birdie. But the putt slid wide of the cup, and McIlroy rolled back his head in disappointment after tapping in the par, knowing that he had squandered a chance at a truly historic score.
While no one ever expects to shoot 63 in a major, it was certainly a day for posting a low number.
Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa took a run at McIlroy until he failed to get up-and-down at 17, taking his only bogey on the way to a 65. John Daly matched the best score of his Open career with a 66, a number equaled by Scottish journeyman Andrew Coltart, Englands Steven Tiley, Bradley Dredge of Wales and Swedens Peter Hanson.
The birthplace of golf played like a muni for the morning starters, with hardly any wind blowing in off St. Andrews Bay and only a sprinkling of rain. In fact, the sun popped out just as McIlroy was finishing up, and competitors were able to strip off their jackets and play in short sleeves.
“The old lady had no clothes on today,” said 60-year-old Tom Watson, who opened with a 73 and was one of the few early starters who failed to break par.
Winds stiffened as the day went on, making it more difficult for afternoon players like Phil Mickelson, who took a double-bogey 6 at No. 13 and had nothing but pars over the first 17 holes. He finally made his first birdie at 18, but a 73 left him more concerned about making the cut that going for the lead on Friday.
Mickelson would move to No. 1 for the first time in his career with a win at St. Andrews.
Clearly miffed at his performance, Lefty blew off interview requests and quickly skipped out of the clubhouse.
Just past 6 oclock, the expected rains finally arrived, at least on part of the course, forcing players to scramble for their wet gear. From then on, it was a mix of showers and sunshine as the last groups finished up.
Englands Lee Westwood wasnt surprised to see such a low score atop the leaderboard. Even with a less favorable afternoon start time and playing with a ruptured calf muscle, which limited his practice time the last two weeks, he shot 67 and was solidly in contention on a scoreboard filled with red numbers.
“The course was defenseless,” Westwood said. “I expected somebody to shoot 62 for the first time today, to be perfectly honest.”
Woods showed this might be the week for his first victory since being tarnished by a sex scandal that had the British media speculating as much about his personal life as the prospects of him becoming the first player to win three Open titles at St. Andrews.
His only stumble also came at the Road Hole, where he took a bogey.
Woods romped to dominating wins in 2000 and 2005; a third straight would give him 15 majors titles, just three shy of Jack Nicklaus career record.
“Its getting better every week,” Woods said. “Im hitting shots that I havent hit in a long time. Its building.”
Daly knows a thing or two about problems away from the course, from failed marriages and financial woes to trouble with alcohol and weight.
He underwent surgery to deal with his ballooning waist line, and has lost nearly 100 pounds. But hes ranked 455th in the world and his best finish of the year was a tie for 24th at the Puerto Rico Open.
No matter, Daly still has quite the following. Fans of “grip it and rip it” had no trouble spotting him at the Old Course, where he wore lavender paisley pants, a sky blue sleeveless sweater, a peach shirt and a turquoise cap. None of it matched. Not that it mattered.
Strolling the course puffing on a cigarette and carrying a diet soda, Daly put up his best score since a 66 at Royal St. Geo four putts lipped out or caught the edge of the cup, including one that spun 180 degrees around the back of the 12th hole to end a streak of four straight birdies.
Could it be 1995 all over again?
That year, Daly managed to put aside his problems long enough to capture his second major championship, beating Costantino Rocca in a British Open playoff with a mop of blond hair that was much longer than it is now.
“Its a golf course, I dont know, I just love it. I dont know why,” Daly said. “It suits my game. Just a special, special place.”
But the Old Course relies on the elements to provide its best defense. Without the usual rain and wind, it was like target practice for the worlds best.
Of the first 84 players who teed off before noon, only 25 posted scores above par. Among those in the red: defending Open champion Stewart Cink, who got off to what normally would have been a very solid start.
This day, though, a 70 felt like an opportunity squandered.
“It was out there for the taking,” said Cink, who beat Watson in a playoff at Turnberry after the five-time champion missed an 8-foot putt on the 72nd hole that would have made him the oldest major champion in golf history. “I definitely left a few out there.”
