Text: Brendan Barratt. Article from the November 2012 issue of Compleat Golfer Magazine.
Certain people believe that the way you play the game reveals something about your personality. Brendan Barratt chatted to Louis Oosthuizen, now SA’s top-ranked golfer, whose effortless golf swing testifies to a laid-back, humble personality.
If you’ve stayed up late watching golf on the US Tour this year, you’ll probably be aware of just how enamored US commentators are with Louis Oosthuizen. The Americans in general just love ‘the man from Mossel Bay’ – and when it comes to his golf swing, they are positively gushing with superlatives. Louis, it seems, has made his mark – now if only they could pronounce his name correctly.
By most accounts, 2011 was a tough year for Oosthuizen, and it was always likely to be testing. Matching his breakthrough in 2010, where he won a Major and a further European Tour event, seemed to be a near-impossible task. What’s more, he had an annoying voice (both in his head and outside it, and mostly in an American accent) that was telling him his win at St Andrews was a fluke. Having been inside the ropes at that event, I can assure you that there was very little that was lucky about Oosthuizen’s seven-shot victory. It was as close to golfing perfection as one could hope to see – and yet Louis still felt he had something to prove, particularly across the Atlantic, where he set up his base last year.
This year, something clicked. It kicked off in the Masters, where Oosthuizen holed a 4-iron for an albatross on the 2nd hole of the final round and then pushed eventual winner Bubba Watson all the way to the end. The Americans were starting to like our humble, laid-back Louis, who smiled all the way through the final round, the playoff, and the post-round interview, where he was gracious in defeat.
As bitterly disappointed as he must have been – he missed the rare opportunity to have the Green Jacket placed on him by his best friend Charl Schwartzel – Louis hopped on a plane and sped across the globe to honor a commitment to play in the Malaysian Open. As luck would have it, this time he won, albeit a week too late for his liking, as he joked about the color of his winner’s jacket being the wrong shade. “It would have been better if I had the Green Jacket,” he laughed, “but coming here and winning after what happened last week showed me that I can pull it off, so it’s very important.”
Oosthuizen is now, like so many South Africans before him, a global golfer, competing on both the US and European Tours, with commitments in Asia and South Africa as well. As a Major winner, he’s in high demand, but one gets the sense that even for him, the endless travel is getting to be a bit too much. With a young family (Louis is married to Nel-Mare and has two young daughters, Jana and Sophia), it makes sense that he’s making a home for himself on the US Tour, where the weather and travel are often easier to deal with.
Back in the States, he’s come agonizingly close to winning on several occasions, racking up five top-five finishes without actually getting over the line, eventually finishing seventh in the FedEx Cup final standings.
Next year has the potential to be a massive one for Oosthuizen and, with a bit of luck, he will get a few wins under his belt. Who knows, it might even be enough to get his name to roll off the American tongues.
Brendan Barratt You‘ve had a pretty good year – two wins and some close calls have reminded everyone of your playing ability. How have you felt the year has gone for you?
Louis Oosthuizen It’s probably been my best so far. Even better than last year and 2010. You know, last year it took a while for me to get over everything (after winning The Open in 2010). I started well this season and I think Augusta took a lot out of me, so I took three weeks’ break on the farm where I didn’t really do anything and I lost a bit of form and rhythm. I got it back after the US Open – that’s when I felt I started playing better. I did well at FedEx, which was my first one. So yeah, I’m very happy with it so far.
Oosthuizen on playing in the United States
BB Do you think it’s taken a bit of time for you to get comfortable on American soil? And playing on that tour?
LO Ja, it’s completely different to Europe. I mean, you need to be comfortable on very fast greens. I like European golf. The green speed and conditions are similar to South Africa – not the weather, but the golf itself, especially where I grew up, in Mossel Bay. In America, from 100 yards, you’ve got to be spot on with your game the whole time. And my putting has improved so much just being on the US Tour for the last two years. For my second year running my overall putting has improved and even though I don’t always make putts, I know I’m putting so much better. I’m leading the stats this year for putts from inside five feet, which is great. The tour is a lot easier in many ways, but a lot more competitive.
BB Every week you’re in the company of the likes of Tiger, Rory, or any number of superstars. Are you able to take stock and look at how far you’ve come as a professional golfer?
LO, I think once you play at a certain level, you don’t really even think about things like that. In 2010, I got up to 15th in the world ranking – I fell back a bit after that – but I got a feeling of what it’s like (near the top). I knew I wanted to get back to that level.
I needed to win again to just get the game right and I won the Africa Open last year, but still had a very quiet season. When all the Majors started, I put a lot of pressure on myself – I almost felt I had to prove to myself again, that (the Major win) wasn’t a fluke. But this year I’ve had the attitude that I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’m just here to play and enjoy myself. I mean, when I came so close in the Masters, it was sad. It would have been a dream come true for me to get the jacket from Charl (Schwartzel, Louis’ great friend). I think if I look back, I was a lot more focused on what I was doing and not caring what everyone was thinking I was doing. So it was a good experience to put my head down and just play. And I managed to get into the top 10 of the World Ranking this year.
“…Majors and World Ranking – that’s what’s keeping me going.”
Oosthuizen’s Open Championship victory
BB I just want to go back to, obviously, a very important week of your life. I was there when you won The Open in 2010 and it just looked like the perfect week at the perfect time. Have you always felt The Open is something that’s within your reach?
LO No. I mean, at that stage I had just won my first European Tour event. I never thought I could come close to winning a Major that quickly. I like links golf and I like St Andrews, and that week I was hitting it so well that I didn’t really put myself in any danger the whole week. I didn’t look like making a worse score than bogey. Now and then I made a bogey, but I putted great that week.
It’s always been a thing for me that, often I’d be striking the ball well, but I wouldn’t be making any putts. It’s not that I’d be putting terribly, I just wouldn’t make anything. I think America made my putting so much better. The greens are so nice and soft. It’s all speed and line, whereas, in Europe, you need to adjust more. You’ve got to see it at a different speed. It’s just different.
And for that weekend in St Andrews, I felt everything come together. I played beautifully the whole weekend. I think at Augusta this year, it was probably as close as I’ve come to how I hit it in 2010. I actually felt that in the playoffs a few weeks ago, when I finished second to Rory, I was probably hitting it better than when I was playing in the Masters.
Oosthuizen’s busy local and international schedule
BB What’s your schedule like, specifically in terms of coming back to South Africa? Have you got any plans for that?
LO The schedule is so weird at the end of the year. You know the SA Open – it’s such a bad spot they put it in because I’m going to be over in Asia, and for me to come back for the week and go all the way back again is really tough. So I’m missing the SA Open, which is always sad. I don’t like missing it. I missed it last year when I played in the World Cup, but I’ll play Nedbank and I’m going to play at Leopard Creek (in the Alfred Dunhill Championship). With the schedule they put out next year, it’s very strange. They moved the Africa Open to the week before the (WGC-Accenture) matchplay and that means I won’t be able to play. I’ll always like that tournament and I wanted to go back and try to do it three times, but now I can’t play it. At the moment scheduling is really tough – with the US Tour, you need to play 15 events and in Europe, I need to play 13. I also want to play a bit on the Sunshine Tour, even if it’s just one or two events. With six co-sanctioned events, if the schedule allowed, I would play all of them. I can see now what Timmy, Trevor, Ernie, and all of them had to go through. It’s almost impossible to get the schedule changed.
Oosthuizen off the course and family life
BB How have you handled the pressure and the opportunities that come with being a Major winner? There must be plenty of business interests and distractions. Is it quite hard to keep focused?
LO Actually it keeps me going once I’m off the golf course. We’ve started a restaurant here in Mossel Bay, called Route 57. I’ve also got my academy, which is going along nicely. It all keeps me motivated to play well on the course. Once I’m out at the golf course or at the tournament, I don’t think about anything else. I’m there to win the tournament and to do my best. But off the course, it motivates me to do even better.
BB How are things happening in terms of travelling with your family? Do they come with you to the tournaments? Or do you have a base in the UK?
LO, I’m actually moving to the States now, to Florida next year. So I’ll be based there. It makes travelling so much easier. A lot of tournaments are co-sanctioned with the European Tour, so after the US season I’ll go east to get my numbers up and I always try in December/January to be here in South Africa. But I’ll try to get four weeks off or something.
I’ll travel with my family until the kids start going to school. When they start going to school, we probably won’t do that many on the road. If they are at that stage, I can just fly back to Florida on a Sunday night or something.
BB You must have heard how the American commentators just love your golf swing. Are you quite a technical player or are you more of a feel player?
LO Yeah, I would say I’m more of a feel player. There are a few things I always work on that give me a good rhythm and put my swing in good places. Other than that, I grew up playing on windy courses where you need to just feel the shot. That’s why I love playing links golf, where it’s windy and you’ve got to see completely different shots.
Oosthuizen on other South African golfers
BB In terms of how well South African golfers are doing around the globe, is it just a matter of success breeding success? What’s the secret?
LO It’s great to see Branden (Grace), George (Coetzee), Thomas (Aiken), and everyone coming through. I just think we are such a sporting country. We love our sports. In South Africa, the biggest advantage we have is great weather over here. You can play 12 months of the year, whereas in Europe a lot of guys need to go to Dubai just to practice. Also, I think the Sunshine Tour does great work getting the guys ready for the European or US Tours. I remember Branden was playing well and couldn’t break through and he got the win in South Africa [in the Coca-Cola Charity Championship] and he went on to have one of the best seasons on the European Tour by a ‘rookie’. And Ernie winning The Open surprised a lot of people, but they don’t realize how much he still practices. Whenever I go to his house, he is always on the range practicing. He’s worked so hard and he deserved to win another Major. He proved a lot of people wrong. It’s great to see him still having so much success.
BB What goals have you set for yourself for next year and the not-too-distant future?
LO, I’d like to see myself climbing up the World Ranking. I would like to get in the top 10 and stay there. And I want to be competitive in Majors. If I can have close to the season I had this year, I will put myself in positions to win. That will be great.
Obviously, Majors are important. We try to get our game perfect for Majors, which is not easy. So Majors and World Ranking – that’s what’s keeping me going. It would be great climbing the World Ranking, and I wouldn’t mind lifting a few more trophies!
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