Louis Oosthuizen is in contention for a second St. Andrews success in two years just a handful of days after being overlooked for Presidents Cup International Team selection.
Oosthuizen recorded a third round 69 on the Old Course to move into third place on 14-under par but four strokes behind Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey who posted a third straight 66 to head the event at 18-under par.
Louis Oosthuizen looking for his second success in two years on the Old Course.
It’s a welcome return to the Home of Golf for the 150th anniversary Open Champion who had to withdraw from the Dunhill sponsored event last year after tearing ligaments in his left leg on a hunting trip straight after competing in the KLM Open.
“It’s been good fun playing with my brother this week and I am glad he’s here this week,” said Oosthuizen.
“But then it would be very special to win at St. Andrews twice and this is a great event, and I’ve always competed in it.
“I was disappointed not to come back last year as I was struggling with injury as that would have been very special to come back just a few months after winning the Open Championship.
“I suffered the injury three weeks before the tournament and there was just no chance of getting myself fit.
“It was a big shock for my brother as he was supposed to play with my last year, so I was on a promise to bring him here this year.
“I really even could bring myself to watch it on TV apart from a bit on the last day.
“So it’s just nice being back here and remembering all the shots I played last year.”
It’s been a lean season for the South African who commenced 2011 in winning style by capturing the co-sanctioned Africa Open at Eastern Cape.
However since then the 29-year old has struggled with a best finish on ninth in the U.S. Open behind Rory McIlroy.
It was that ninth place finish at Congressional that kept Oosthuizen in line for automatic Presidents Cup selection.
He had been inside the top-10 for the majority of the qualifying period but missing the halfway cut in the PGA Championship and not qualifying for the FedEx Cup Playoff Series didn’t help his cause.
Oosthuizen was then bumped out to 11th place when Australian Geoff Ogilvy finished third in the BMW Championship to book his Royal Melbourne place.
And Oosthuizen’s chances of being afforded a Greg Norman pick seemed very slim given he had never competed before in Australia.
Norman phoned Oosthuizen last Monday, and a day before his two ‘captain’s picks’ were made public, to indicate he was choosing the Australian duo of Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley both Royal Melbourne specialists.
“I wasn’t surprised or disappointed when Greg phoned me and I really wasn’t expecting to be picked,” he said.
“If I was the Captain I would also have picked the two Australian players given their strong knowledge of the course.
“Of course, it’s a great honour representing your country even though it is an International Team so hopefully my day will come.
“I was really more upset I didn’t qualify automatically as I was in the team for such a long time and just dropped out of the top-10 recently.
“But now that I’ve got myself in contention to win again I don’t think I have a point to prove or anything like that.
“What I need to prove and that’s prove to myself that I can get back to the form where I want to be as the year started off so well with a third in the South African Open and then a win the following week at the Africa Open.
“I just slowed down in the middle of the season so I am more concerned now getting back to that level where I know I can play well.”
Oosthuizen indicated earlier this year if he were to make the Presidents Cup side he would travel to Australia a week earlier to compete in the Australian Open in Sydney.
However that plan has now changed and instead Oosthuizen will contest the $US 6m Barclays Singapore Open being staged the same week as Australia’s premier event.
