Louis Oosthuizen dropped out of the world’s top 50 at the 2010 US Open, four weeks before he pitched up at the Home of Golf for his next major tilt.
The smiley South African hadn’t been so cheery to that point at the majors. He’d only made the cut once in his previous eight starts in golf’s big four events and he only continued the misery at Pebble Beach, watching on as his compatriot Ernie Els finished two shots behind Graeme McDowell.
Els was the last player from the Rainbow Nation to lift the Claret Jug by the time the 150th Anniversary Open at St Andrews rolled around. Oosthuizen and his fellow countrymen had a tough act to follow, also given the relatively recent success of Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman at the US Open and the Masters.
To say Oosthuizen rose to the occasion would be an understatement. Standing on the 18th tee on Sunday with golf’s most remarkable backdrop in his sights, the then-27-year-old led by eight shots and cruised to a seven-shot victory, a margin only bettered by Tiger Woods in the post-war era.
“Now and then, it pops up and you see a video of it on YouTube, and you start thinking about it,” Oosthuizen said ahead of the 15th anniversary of his sole major win.
“It was a great feeling, and I was lucky enough with the last few holes, I had a big lead so I could take in quite a lot.
“The whole 18th hole I could take in and doing it there was very special at St Andrews. I love playing in any Open Championship, but it’s just something about playing it at St Andrews which makes it very special.”
Oosthuizen led by five shots at the halfway stage from surprise challenger and 1989 Open winner Mark Calcavecchia. This was reduced by one shot thanks to Englishman Paul Casey shooting 67 on Saturday.
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When any leader has such an advantage, particularly at an event with stakes as high as The Open, there is usually a moment or two of uncertainty, no matter how controlled they look. Oosthuizen reached the 8th tee with a four-stroke lead, when Casey looked to pounce.
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“I went through the first seven holes, made seven pars and I got to the 8th and I missed the green on the left. The wind was hard out the right, and I chipped it to about six feet and missed the putt.”
But Oosthuizen produced a moment on the short 9th hole on the Old Course that was crucial to his victory, a moment his pursuers Casey and Lee Westwood always seemed to lack in their major careers, despite their vast success on the regular tours.
“He drove first on 9, he hit it on the green and then I hit it pin high left,” Oosthuizen recalled. “I holed my putt for eagle and that was a massive momentum switch for me.”
“He had a disastrous 12th hole and, on top of that, I birdied the 12th.” Casey, ranked 10th in the world that week, got to within three after his opponent erred on the 8th, but struggled and made a triple-bogey to all but end his chances.
His drive ended only 88 yards from the pin on this par 4, but came to rest in the gorse bushes. After taking a drop, Casey took five more shots, while Oosthuizen mercilessly made a three.
His lead was eight with six to play, but even with the engraver ready to carve his name into golf’s most famous trophy, Oosthuizen was fully aware of the dangers on the back nine on the Old Course, and the unpredictable nature of major golf.
“There were too many holes left, there was no thinking about winning yet. (I had) the 14th tee shot, even the 16th hole tee shot, and the 17th tee shot still to come, so there was way too much golf left to think about it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t change any way I played the golf course. I just hit my shots, and I think the first time I really (thought about winning) was after I hit the second shot on 17. Even though I pulled it towards the bunker, but I didn’t have enough club to get to the bunker, we took like two less clubs, I just wanted to hit it right short and make a five and get to the next hole.
“After I hit that shot, it was like I need to really screw up not to win this tournament.
“I remember my putt on 17, I didn’t even try and do something fancy around the bunker, I just putted it to the side of the green, two putted and took my five and went to the 18th.”
On the 92nd birthday of Nelson Mandela, Oosthuizen became the fourth South African to win The Open.
Through the 2011 Masters, his major record went like this: Cut, Cut, 73rd, Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut Cut, Win, Cut, Cut.
It is that one victory that has cemented his place in the history of The Open and the eternal affection of the crowds at St Andrews.
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