The Open 2010: Day four highlights (UK only)

Louis Oosthuizen revealed how a phone call from South African golf legend Gary Player inspired him to victory on the final day of the Open Championship.

The 27-year-old cantered to a seven-shot win - his first major triumph - at St Andrews with a final-round 71.

Lee Westwood was second at nine under, while Paul Casey faded to tied third.

"We had a chat in my home language Afrikaans. He said to stay calm, have a lot of fun and that the crowd was going to be on Paul's side," said Oosthuizen.

"Then [Player] told me the story when he played against Arnold Palmer when he won his first Masters. He said they wanted to throw stuff at me, but he was so focused on beating him in Augusta.

"It meant a lot him phoning me up. He's just a great guy."

Oosthuizen also praised compatriot Ernie Els, whose Foundation gave him his real start in golf, and wished happy birthday to Nelson Mandela on his 92nd birthday.

606: DEBATE He outplayed everyone, had a refreshingly brisk, no-nonsense approach to his game, and thoroughly deserves his win. cougarforest2

"That's amazing. I woke up this morning and I didn't know it was his birthday, but I saw it on the news.

"It felt a bit special out there. When I walked down 18 I was thinking about his birthday and then my manager also gave me a list of things [for his winner's speech] and it was also in there.

"So it worked out. What he's done for our country is unbelievable."

Earlier on Sunday, Player told BBC 5 live's Sportsweek that his fellow South African had all the attributes to win a major championship.

"He's very, very good, has a magnificent golf swing and has got a lot of experience," said Player.

GOLF BLOG Despite winning by seven shots, the man they call "Shrek" .. only relaxed after his drive hit the deck on the 18th Rob Hodgetts

"He has won golf tournaments and is very, very strong physically. He doesn't look like it when you see him walking along the fairways with waterproofs on.

"He wants to buy a farm, it's a great incentive and I understand because that's how I wanted to win to buy my farm and that's my great joy in life."

As a result of his win, Oosthuizen shoots up from 54th to 15th in the world rankings.

Westwood, who was nursing a calf injury throughout the tournament, stays third, but is now only 0.24 points behind Phil Mickelson - and number one Tiger Woods could be in range when they next all play at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio next month.

The Open 2010: Shots of the tournament

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version