BLAINE, Minn. – It was unlike Louis Oosthuizen and his pleasant ways to take a pass on talking with the media after the final round of the British Open.
But who could blame him?
For the third consecutive major championship, Oosthuizen staggered off the 72nd hole dragging a large dose of disappointment, another chance at grabbing major championship hardware coming up just short once again as Collin Morikawa hoisted the Claret Jug at Royal St. George’s.
“You don’t want to always talk about close again, finishing second, finishing third, so I wasn’t really up for that conversation right there,” Oosthuizen said. “Collin played the way you should play to win a major, especially on a Sunday. He didn’t make many mistakes and when he did make a mistake, he made unbelievable up‑and‑downs for pars.
“It was just frustrating because I knew my game was definitely there to have a good solid day. Weather was as good as you can get at the Open, so it was just a bit of frustration and disappointment really. I was fine on Monday, though.”
He was in good spirits on Wednesday, too, as he finished his prep for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities. Still, despite being six times zones and more than 6,500 miles from Royal St. George’s, his latest close-but-no-cigar curtain closer was still fresh on his mind.
Oosthuizen set the Open Championship 36-hole scoring record of 129 and led after each of the first three rounds, his 54-hole advantage one shot over Morikawa. But Oosthuizen was out of sorts in the final round, bogeyed the par-5 seventh – the easiest hole on the course – and couldn’t catch the eventual winner on the back nine. He finished in a tie for third, four shots back.
Well I do know one thing, the fans at @TheOpen are second (or third) to none. Thank you for the incredible support this week, and congrats to @collin_morikawa who played with class and grit today. Well done mate 👏🏼 #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/BZdhY8xFG8
— Louis Oosthuizen (@Louis57TM) July 18, 2021
This came on the heels of finishing one shot short one month earlier to Jon Rahm in the U.S. Open, where he led by two with three to play at Torrey Pines but hit his tee shot on the 17th into a penalty area while Rahm became the first Spaniard to win the tournament with two long birdie putts on the 71st and 72nd holes.
That came one month after the 38-year-old from South Africa couldn’t get the putter working in the final 18 of the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and fell two shots shy of Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest major winner in history.
In 10 months, Oosthuizen has played in five majors and finished third or better in four. Only six players beat Oosthuizen in those four – champion Bryson DeChambeau and runner-up Matthew Wolff at the 2020 U.S. Open; Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship; Rahm at the 2021 U.S. Open; and Morikawa and runner-up Jordan Spieth at the 2021 British Open.
And since Oosthuizen’s stellar triumph in the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews, he has finished runner-up six times in majors.
“I would look back at all the finishes that I had in majors and the way I played them to be really proud of what I achieved and being able to perform at major levels is what it’s all about,” the world No. 9 said. “Being that close, you want the second one. You also look back and look at it as you came that close and you couldn’t get it. But I’ll still have hopefully quite a few majors in me and hopefully I can get another one under the belt.
“I’ll take more motivation out of it than being disappointed.”
Oosthuizen, who has 14 professional wins but is still searching for his first on American soil, is a tad tired – physically and mentally – after the Open and jet lag. He’s conserving his energy and will be mindful to be mentally sharp starting with the first round.
“I’m not doing much this week on the range,” he said. “I was doing a little bit of work on putting yesterday. I’ll do a bit of work with my physio, and other than that, just resting up and waiting for to start and just try and get the mind as fresh as I can. I know the game is there, I’m swinging well and I’m putting nicely, so I just need to not make that many thinking errors.
“That happens when you come off a major week.”
But he’s glad he’s at TPC Twin Cities instead of at his new farm he bought in Ocala, Florida.
“I’m glad that I entered in this event to sort of get back in there and play and not really sit around at home and thinking about the disappointing Sunday last week,” he said. “I think I can still do better. You can always improve.
“I’m just doing what I’ve been doing the last three, four years really. I think it’s just the work is starting to pay off and I’m just having a good time on the golf course and trying to enjoy my golf as much as I can.”
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