Tag: Louis Oosthuizen

Louis Oosthuizen holds 54-hole lead at South African Open

Tournament host and defending champion Louis Oosthuizen is looking to be the first repeat winner since Trevor Immelman 15 years ago.

Louis Oosthuizen shot a 64 on Saturday at the South African Open and will take a one-shot into Sunday’s final round.

Tournament host and defending champion Oosthuizen is 15-under. Fellow South African Trevor Immelman 15 years ago was the last to defend this title.

Marcus Armitage shot a third-round 62 one day after a 72 to charge up the leaderboard. He held a four-shot lead at one point on Saturday before settling into second, a stroke ahead of Jaco Ahlers.

Among the five golfers at 12-under, three of the lead is, is amateur Jayden Trey Schaper, an 18-year-old from South Africa, who shot a 69.

South African Open: Leaderboard

Armitage’s 62 matches the first-round score of Johannes Veerman for .the best round of the week so far. Armitage is looking for his first European Tour. He recently regained his tour card at Q School.

Oosthuizen is seeking his 10th European Tour victory.

“Getting my name on the trophy again would really mean the world to me,” he told europeantour.com. “Defending it and being the host for the week would make it extra special.

“It was good, it was solid. I gave myself lots of opportunities for birdies and the putter was a lot better.”

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Amateur Jayden Schaper one shot off South African Open lead

If Jayden Trey Schaper, an 18-year-old from South Africa, continues the pace he’s on in the South African Open, he has a shot at the title.

The last man who won a European Tour event as an amateur is now the reigning British Open champion. If Jayden Trey Schaper, an 18-year-old from South Africa, continues the pace he’s on in the South African Open, he could have a legitimate shot at joining Shane Lowry in that prestigious group.

After 36 holes at the Firethorn Course at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg for the European Tour’s South African Open, Schaper is 10 under and one off the lead. He’s part of a five-man tie for second, and all are trailing Tapio Pulkkanen at 11 under.

Leaderboard: South African Open

An amateur hasn’t won this particular event since 1959, even though Lowry was the last amateur to win on this tour, at the Irish Open, in 2009.

Schaper played the first two rounds alongside 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen. On Friday, he made five bogeys on the back nine on his way to a 4-under 67. He had opened with a 65 that included an eagle on the par-4 fifth hole.

“Just special to be up near the top of the leaderboard,” Schaper said. “Playing out there with Louis, one of my idols, and Christiaan (Bezuidenhout) today made it so much more special.”

When asked how he plans to handle his nerves over the weekend, Schaper had a ready answer.

“The way I see is it’s the same golf course. … I’m just going to keep the same as any amateur event that I’ve played,” he said. “Obviously there will be a bit of nerves, but I kind of enjoy them and I kind of feed off of it so I’m just looking forward to starting the weekend.”

Schaper competed in junior and amateur events around the world in 2019, most notably winning the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Sept. 1. He also was a member of the International team at the Junior Presidents Cup last month.

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2019 Presidents Cup odds, lines, picks and best bets: Which side wins at Royal Melbourne?

Previewing the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with golf betting odds and picks for outright winner and the best props.

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The 2019 Presidents Cup takes place this week at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Twelve of the top golfers from the United States tee off against 12 of the best from outside of Europe. Below, we analyze the tournament odds and prop bets, with golf betting picks and tips.

The first round will start Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Looking to place a bet on this tournament? Get some action on it at BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Presidents Cup Teams

Captains Tiger Woods (USA) and Ernie Els (International) selected the following teams:

Team USA International Team
Dustin Johnson–Justin Thomas Hideki Matsuyama–Adam Scott
Matt Kuchar–Xander Schauffele Louis Oosthuizen–Marc Leishman
Webb Simpson–Patrick Cantlay Abraham Ancer–Haotong Li
Bryson DeChambeau–Tiger Woods C.T. Pan–Cameron Smith
Gary Woodland–Tony Finau Joaquin Niemann–Adam Hadwin
Patrick Reed–Rickie Fowler Sungjae Im–Byeong Hun An

The entire US team ranks in the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking, while only three members of the International side are in the top 25.

Presidents Cup Tournament Winner

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

Team USA has won the past seven Presidents Cups and leads the all-time series against the International side at 10-1-1. Fortunately for the global squad, which is led by three Australians, its only Presidents Cup victory was at this venue in 1998.

The INTERNATIONALS are getting juicy +250 odds for the tournament victory. Team USA is a -250 favorite. Look for Adam Scott (No. 18), Marc Leishman (No. 28) and Cameron Smith (No. 52) to lead the Internationals to victory on home soil.

Presidents Cup Prop Bets

Internationals +3.5 Points (-125)

After losing 19-11 in 2017, look for the Internationals to keep it closer this time out. Their previous two losses in 2015 and ’13, were decided by one and three points, respectively.

Top Combined Points Scorer: Adam Scott (+1200)

Scott will have the crowd behind him as the top golfer from the host nation. He didn’t play in 1998 (when the Internationals got their lone win in the event, also in Melbourne), but he has won both the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship and has spoken highly of wanting to win at the famed Royal Melbourne as a potential career highlight.

Who will score the most points for the USA? Patrick Reed (+900)

Expect the best from Reed, who has excelled in the Ryder Cup format against Europe, and in the 2017 Presidents Cup. He’s coming off another controversy at last week’s Hero World Challenge in which he was penalized two strokes for improving his line of play in a waste bunker.

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

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Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Matt Jones increases his Australian Open lead, world’s best amateur close behind

Matt Jones coped best with difficult afternoon conditions Saturday at the Australian Open for a 68 and a three-shot lead.

SYDNEY – Matt Jones coped best with difficult afternoon conditions Saturday at the Australian Open for a 3-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round.

Jones, who led by one stroke after the second round, had a three-round total of 13-under 200 at the Australian Golf Club. American Cameron Tringale was in second after a 69.

Jones said he had no idea what score it would take to win on Sunday.

“It depends on what the conditions are like; just try not to make a double and a triple on the front nine like I did last time and make it a little easier,” he said.

Japanese amateur Takumi Kanaya and Louis Oosthuizen, who both shot 70, and Paul Casey, who had a 71, were tied for third at 9-under, four strokes behind.

Leaderboard: Australian Open

Casey fell out of the lead with a double-bogey six on the par-4 ninth after hitting into a green-side bunker and with a difficult lie to exit.

“Ït was a flat day, I just never really got going, not much to really say,” Casey said. “When I had opportunities, I didn’t capitalize and there was obviously a couple of errors in there. But how do you get around this course without making errors?

Marc Leishman shot 70 and was tied for eighth, six behind Jones, the 2015 Australian Open winner.

“Tough greens, you really fought your way around today,” Leishman said. “It was a tricky wind and I didn’t get off to the best start, a couple over through 10 but fought pretty hard, made a couple of putts there on the back nine. I think the course is getting firmer and tougher, especially if the wind stays like this.”

Kanaya, the World No. 1 amateur, had some good fortune along the way. On the par-3 15th, his birdie putt from off the green sat on the lip of the hole, and Kanaya buried his head in his hands for a few seconds thinking he’d missed.

But when the crowd roared, he looked up to see that the ball had dropped, and he waved his hat to the spectators as he retrieved the ball from the hole.

He bogeyed the 17th but had a birdie on 18 to stay close to Jones.

The Australian Open is the first qualifying tournament for next year’s British Open to be played from July 16-19 at Royal St. George’s. The leading three players who finish in the top 10 and ties at the Australian Open who are not already exempt will qualify.

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Louis Oosthuizen rises from sick bed to lead Nedbank Challenge

Louis Oosthuizen was sick Thursday at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but shot a bogey-free 63 to lead the event.

Louis Oosthuizen didn’t let illness get in the way of taking the first-round lead in the $7.5 million Nedbank Golf Challenge. The South African rose from his sick bed to fire a bogey-free 63, 9 under, to take a three-shot lead into the second round.

Beware the injured golfer, indeed!

Illinois grad Thomas Detry is Oosthuizen’s closest rival after the Belgian returned a 66. Italy’s Guido Detry is four shots adrift at 5 under. Defending champion Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and Zander Lombard are in a tie for fourth at 4 under.

Oosthuizen woke up in pain in the middle of the night before the opening round, and thought he might not be able to play.

“Considering that at 3 a.m. this morning I didn’t think I was going to tee it up, I’m very chuffed (happy) with that round,” Oosthuizen said.

“I woke yesterday with kidney stones and this morning was very uncomfortable, but it sort of eased at 6-7am. You could see me walking slower and just going at everything a little slower out there.

“But I know I played good at the WGC-HSBC Champions two weeks ago and I know the swing is there, the putting’s there. I just need to be healthy to play.”

The 2010 Open Championship winner has nine European Tour wins, five of which have come in his homeland. He won the South African Open for the first time earlier this year, but has never won the Nedbank. However, he has three top 10s in his previous four appearances at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.

“I just love this golf course. One of my first wins on the Sunshine Tour was here, the Dimension Data. Every time I play here, it brings back a lot of good memories.”

Detry is still looking for his first win after nearly three full seasons on the European Tour. He only had one blemish on his card, a bogey at the par-5 second hole.

“I had it going pretty quickly,” said Detry, who is ranked 66th on the Race to Dubai. “I have got good vibes out here. I played pretty well here last year. Not quite as good as Louis today, but pretty happy.

“I’ve been playing really, really well recently. You know, again last week, I was 11 under after two rounds and didn’t play quite as good on the weekend. I’m very comfortable with my game. If I can keep the putter hot for four days, then something might happen.”

Westwood’s victory last year was his 24th on the European Tour.

“You can’t win this tournament on the first day,” Westwood said. “Anything under 70 always feels like a great start to this tournament.

“I played well. Controlled the ball flight. Could have hit a few more fairways. Would have made it a little easier. I was in the rough too often, but no bogeys and 68 was a great start.”

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