Capelle On Golf

We know all about Paul Casey, the eighth ranked player, so it seemed likely that he would overtake super long shot Louis Oosthuizen, who was listed by Ladbrokes at 200-1 before the tournament.

And, with a major’s resume that sparser than water in the Mohave, there was no way to know that the amiable and boyish looking lad from South Africa was, in fact, a cold blooded killer along the lines of Y.E. Yang. But Oosthuizen surprised us all by shooting a rock solid round of 71 to win the Claret Jug by seven shots.

While the winner must pass many tests in the final eighteen, two of Oosthuizen’s shots, both tee shots, stood out as keys to his victory.

The first came on the ninth. Casey had pulled to within three after Oosthuizen bogeyed the eighth, then drove the green on nine, making a birdie very likely. With the pressure on, Oosthuizen responded by driving to within 35 feet of the pin. If he’d choked and drove into the nearby gorse, a five would have been probable, leaving Casey within a shot after he two putted for a birdie. Instead Oosthuizen rolled in his eagle put and turned for home with a four shot lead.

The next key tee shot came at number 12 where Oosthuizen split the narrow fairway, avoiding the deep bunkers and bushes in setting up a birdie. Casey hooked his drive into a gorse bush, took an unplayable lie, then chopped his way to a triple bogey. Game over as he now trailed Oosthuizen by eight with six to play.

At that point, Casey and the rest of the field were left to battle for the Silver Medal which the R&A awards to the second place finisher. Lee Westwood won it, finishing second in a major for the second time this year. He’s also earned two thirds in his last five majors, securing his place as the current Best Player to Never Have Won a Major. Third place was shared by Roy McIlroy, whose scores read 63-80-69-68, Henrik Stenson, who had five top tens in his last five majors, and Casey.

We entered the event knowing little about Oosthuizen, but after this breakout performance, it seems reasonable to assume that will be hearing a lot more from this diminutive South African as he seeks to follow in the footsteps of his multiple major winning countrymen that includes Bobby Locke, Gary Player, Retief Goosen, and Ernie Els, who provided assistance to Oosthuizen during his formative years.

As for Oosthuizen’s swing, it seems to generate effortless power similar to the way Fred Couples does. For the week, he averaged 319 yards on the measured holes. Besides hitting it long, he was also deadly accurate off the tee, hitting 55 of 64 fairways (85.9%), a super high average. He also hit 60 greens (83.3%!). As for his putting, he only three putted twice on St. Andrews’ mammoth greens.

Now for the intangibles. Oosthuizen has employed Zack Rasego, a black caddy for the last seven years, another sign that South Africa is evolving towards becoming a color blind nation someday. The pair exudes great chemistry together on the course.

Oosthuizen marks his glove with a red dot, which he says is “A trigger to get back in the moment.” Evidently he’s mastered a critical aspect of the mental game. And he’s got a great base of support as was shown when his wife Nel-Mare and baby daughter Jana came out to congratulate him moments after he holed out on 18.

And now for a confession: I was not rooting for Oosthuizen, but not because he isn’t a great guy, because by all appearances he is. It’s just that I like to see winners who have paid their major winning dues by coming close a few times, and I prefer to see winners who have done it before, or who look like they could win again, and again. In short, the game needs multiple major winning superstars.

But now that Oosthuizen has won that first one, I will root for him going forward in the hopes that he does not become another member of the one-and-done club, whose ranks have swelled in recent years (16 new members in the last 10 years).

Indeed, one of the comments echoed by so many of the experts was, “where has this guy been.” Now they and the golf world wonder where is he going? I hope it to that rarified territory of the multiple majors champions because the game needs super stars, and Oosthuizen looks like he’s got the makings of one.