Louis to get another crack at winning

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa reacts after missing his par putt on the third hole of a play-off round at the British Open golf championship on the Old Course in St. Andrews. Photo: Lee Smith

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa reacts after missing his par putt on the third hole of a play-off round at the British Open golf championship on the Old Course in St. Andrews. Photo: Lee Smith

Published Jul 23, 2015

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Pretoria - Louis Oosthuizen may have lost The Open to American Zach Johnson in a dramatic play-off, finishing tied second with Australian Marc Leishman on Monday.

But the South African will be back at St Andrews early in October hoping to go one better on the iconic Old Course, this time in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

“I’ll take a lot out of how I played in the Open,” Oosthuizen says. “I was really motivated to win and I came so close. I’ve said it a thousand times, but I love the Old Course. So I can’t wait to be back in St Andrews again for the Dunhill Links. It’s always a pleasure to play in that event. I’d love to have a win in it to add to my CV,” added the 32-year-old who won the 2010 Open at St Andrews, and is having a good year on the fairways of the world, having also tied for second in the US Open at Chambers Bay in June.

A world class field will team up with some of the biggest names from entertainment and sport to share the drama and excitement of the 15th edition of this celebration of links golf in which the competitors also get to play Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Oosthuizen has been a regular in the tournament but has still to win it, one of the biggest on the European Tour. “It’s a great format and as long as you make the cut, you get to play St. Andrews twice. Carnoustie and Kingsbarns are also great courses so there’s every reason for it to be a great week The secret is keeping patient and out of the bunkers, and in fact you need everything to be solid. It’s the Home of Golf. You can’t get any more special than that.”

Oosthuizen’s compatriot Branden Grace won the 2012 Dunhill and he will also be back this year with a strong contingent of South Africans likely to include Ernie Els and George Coetzee who equalled the Old Course course record with a 62 in the 2012 Links.

The European Tour this week is in the Swiss Alps at Crans-sur-Sierre for the European Masters starting on Thursday with Coetzee, Jaco van Zyl. Darren Fichardt, Trevor Fisher jr and Jbe Kruger the South Africans in the line-up.

Across the Atlantic South Africa’s Tim Clark defends his title in the RBC Canadian Open, also starting on Thursday, with Retief Goosen and Els - who both made the cut in The Open - in the field.

Also starting on Thursday, the Senior British Open features a trip down memory lane as some of the game’s greats gather at Sunningdale. Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples and Miguel Angel Jimenez is one of the star groupings. Then there’s Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie and Jeff Maggert. David Frost, Chris Williams and Bobby Lincoln are the South Africans taking part, while Zimbabwe duo Mark McNulty and Tony Johnstone are also in the draw.

*The Senior Open, the Canadian Open and the European Masters are all on SuperSport from on Thursday.

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