Johannesburg – Louis Oosthuizen and 21 other South African professional golfers this week head for Scotland the land of haggis, bagpipes and whisky – for the 16th edition of the $5-million Alfred Dunhill Links.
Now Oosthuizen, although he may have his own wine label, doesn’t drink much but all the same he’s going to be shouting “make mine a double!” when he arrives at St Andrews.
In fact, the 33-year-old has been ordering a double, albeit unsuccessfully, ever since he won The Open Championship on the iconic Old Course in July 2010.
He returned to St Andrews in the autumn of that year hoping to complete a grand double by winning that season’s Alfed Dunhill Links, which is played over the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in this annual festival of Links golf.
He figured that the huge Alfred Dunhill Links trophy would look good on his mantelpiece alongside his small but much-coveted Claret Jug replica which commemorates his Open triumph.
Each year since 2010, Oosthuizen has returned to St Andrews for the Links showpiece and ordered a double but so far that coveted victory has eluded him. So, maybe this time. He’s certainly had a decent year, winning the European Tour’s ISPS Handa Perth International in Australia, and finishing second in the World Golf Championship Dell Match Play back in March. And the world’s 20th ranked golfer loves St Andrews, so perhaps that elusive double is finally on its way.
Just walking on the hallowed turf again, he says, is a source of inspiration for him with all the wonderful memories of 2010 and the Open win flooding back. And it will be remembered that Oosthuizen came tantalisingly close to yet another Open success at St Andrews last year, before losing to American Zach Johnson in a play-off that also included Australia’s Marc Leishman, who would go on to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December.
Only one South African has won the Alfred Dunhill Links, and that was Branden Grace in 2012. And he did it in style, with a spectacular opening round of 12-under-par 60 at Kingsbarns, which equalled the European Tour record for a low 18.
The South African’s round included 10 birdies and an eagle. And at the time no-one had ever broken 60 in all the years of the tour, although Grace thought it was on for him at one stage during his sub-par blitz.
“It could have been a 59 and I told Zack (his caddie, Zack Masego), when I hit it stiff on the ninth for my last birdie of the day that,
geez, that was close to a 59,” said Grace after his round.
“On the greens, I never made any really long putts. Most were 12 to 15-footers. If a long one had gone in it could have been 59.”
Grace, with a world ranking of 13, is back this year along with Oosthuizen so he’ll be hoping the long putts do go in.
The other South Africans in this week’s line-up are Richard Sterne,
George Coetzee, Brandon Stone, Haydn Porteous,Trevor Fisher Jun, Jaco Ahlers, Jean Hugo, Justin Walters, Darren Fichardt, Trevor Immelman,
Ulrich van den Berg, Merrick Bremner, Oliver Bekker, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Jacques Blaauw, Jbe Kruger, Dean Burmester, Taart van der Walt, Rhys West and Erik van Rooyen. That’s one huge contingent, and hopefully a winner’s somewhere in there.
Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel have been Links regulars over the years but as of the weekend their names were not on the entry list.