The Open 2010: Day four highlights (UK only) Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has targeted further success in the majors after strolling to a seven-shot victory at St Andrews on Sunday. The 27-year-old South African - a 200-1 outsider for the tournament - made light of a record in majors that had seen him make only one of eight cuts. And he said: "I'm going to work a bit harder from now on and try and get up there in as many majors as I can." "Winning one just wants you to get to the second one and then a third." Oosthuizen's run of missed cuts in majors included early exits from the 2009 Masters and this year's US Open. But his emphatic victory at St Andrews, which saw him comfortably hold of the challenge of Lee Westwood and final-round partner Paul Casey, lifted the South African from 54th to 15th in the world rankings.  | GOLF BLOG |
The victory means Oosthuizen is now eligible to play on the American Tour but he insisted he will remain on the European tour having secured his first victory at the Andalucia Open in March. His recent success is a long way from a childhood that saw his tennis-playing father refuse to take him or his brother on to the golf course. "My dad was very cross with us. He refused to take us on the course because he wanted to play tennis," explained Oosthuizen. "He was a big tennis player and he was on the court looking at me and my brother as we walked past to play golf. "Two years after that he started playing golf as well, and he still plays. He doesn't play tennis anymore." Another significant figure in Oosthuizen's career is three-time major winner Ernie Els, whose foundation gave his younger compatriot a start in golf. "I could actually see him speaking to me. He was probably on the couch in his shorts. He was just very proud," said Oosthuizen of the conversation the two shared after he joined Els in becoming one of six South Africans to win a major. The others are Bobby Locke, Gary Player, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman. The Open 2010: Shots of the tournament
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?