Louis Oosthuizen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Louis Oosthuizen |
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Oosthuizen after winning the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews.
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen |
| Nickname | Shrek |
| Born | 19 October 1982 Mossel Bay, South Africa |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Nationality |  South Africa |
| Residence | Mossel Bay, South Africa Ocala, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Nel-Mare Oosthuizen
(m. 2007) |
| Children | 3 |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2002 |
| Current tour(s) | Asian Tour Sunshine Tour LIV Golf |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
| Professional wins | 16 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| European Tour | 11 |
| Asian Tour | 3 |
| Sunshine Tour | 10 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 |
| Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
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| The Masters Tournament | 2nd: 2012 |
| U.S. Open | 2nd/T2: 2015, 2021 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 2010 |
| PGA Championship | T2: 2017, 2021 |
Louis Oosthuizen (born 19 October 1982) is a famous South African professional golfer. He is best known for winning the 2010 Open Championship. This is one of the biggest golf tournaments in the world! Louis has also finished second in all four major golf championships. These include the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. In January 2013, he was ranked fourth in the world for golf.
Contents
Early Life and Amateur Golf
Louis Oosthuizen was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa. When he was starting out, another famous South African golfer, Ernie Els, helped him financially. Ernie Els's foundation supported Louis for three years. Louis won many amateur titles before he became a professional golfer in 2002. He was 19 years old at the time.
Professional Career: Getting Started
Before winning on the European Tour, Louis won five professional tournaments in South Africa. These were part of the Sunshine Tour. He won the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event in 2004. He also won the Dimension Data Pro-Am and Platinum Classic in 2007. He won the Telkom PGA Championship twice, in 2007 and 2008.
Louis joined the European Tour in 2004. In March 2010, he won his first European Tour event. It was called the Open de Andalucia de Golf. The next month, he won the Par 3 Contest at the Masters.
Winning the 2010 Open Championship
Louis Oosthuizen was ranked 54th in the world when he played in the 2010 Open Championship. This big event was held at St Andrews in Scotland. He had not done very well in major championships before.
On the first day, Louis shot a score of 65. This put him in second place. On the second day, he shot a 67. This was the best score of the day! It gave him a lead that he kept for the rest of the tournament. His score after two days was 132. This tied a record for the lowest 36-hole score at the Open Championship in St Andrews.
On Saturday, Louis shot a 69. This put him at 15-under-par. He was four shots ahead of the second-place golfer. On the final day, Louis played very well. He even made an eagle on the 9th hole! An eagle means finishing a hole in two strokes under par. He won the championship by seven strokes. His total score was 272, which was 16-under-par. This was the second-lowest score ever at St Andrews.
Louis became the fourth South African to win the Claret Jug. This is the famous trophy for the Open Championship. He joined other South African legends like Bobby Locke, Gary Player, and Ernie Els. After this win, he moved up to 15th in the world rankings.
Louis said that he stayed focused during the tournament by looking at a red spot on his glove. He would look at it before each shot. This helped him concentrate and play his best.
After 2010: More Great Golf
After his big win in 2010, Louis continued to play well. In 2011, he won his third European Tour title. This was the Africa Open. He won it again in 2012.
In 2012, Louis was the runner-up at the 2012 Masters Tournament. During the final round, he made an amazing shot called an albatross on the second hole. An albatross means finishing a hole in three strokes under par. This was only the fourth albatross ever in Masters history! It was also the first one shown on TV. This shot put him in the lead. He was eventually beaten in a playoff by Bubba Watson.
The week after the Masters, Louis won his fifth European Tour title. This was the Maybank Malaysian Open. In September 2012, he entered the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. He also won the Volvo Golf Champions in both 2013 and 2014.
In 2015, Louis was a joint runner-up at the 2015 Open Championship. He lost in a playoff after tying for the lead. This was his second time finishing second in a major championship in a row. He had also finished second at the U.S. Open.
In August 2017, Louis finished joint runner-up at the 2017 PGA Championship. This meant he had now finished second in all four major championships. This is a very rare achievement!
In December 2018, Louis won the South African Open. In 2019, he played for the International team in the 2019 Presidents Cup.
In 2021, Louis continued his strong play in major championships. He finished tied for second at the 2021 PGA Championship. Then, he finished second at the 2021 U.S. Open. In July, he tied for third place at the 2021 Open Championship.
In June 2022, Louis Oosthuizen joined LIV Golf. This is a new golf series. Because he joined LIV Golf, the PGA Tour suspended him.
Amateur Wins
- 2000 World Junior Championship
- 2001 All African Games (Kenya), Transvaal Amateur Stroke Play Championship (South Africa)
- 2002 Indian Amateur Open Championship (tied), Irish Amateur Open Championship, Natal Open Stroke Play Championship (South Africa)
Professional Wins
Louis Oosthuizen has won 16 professional tournaments in total.
- He has 1 win on the PGA Tour, which was the 2010 Open Championship.
- He has 11 wins on the European Tour.
- He has 3 wins on the Asian Tour.
- He has 10 wins on the Sunshine Tour.
Major Championship Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Open Championship | −16 (272) | 7 strokes |  Lee Westwood |
Major Championship Results Timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| PGA Championship | 73 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | 2 | CUT | 25 | T19 | T15 | T41 | T12 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T9 | CUT | WD | T40 | T2 | T23 | T23 | T16 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | T54 | T19 | WD | T36 | T2 | CUT | CUT | T28 |
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T21 | T15 | T30 | T22 | T2 |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T29 | T23 | T26 | WD | WD | |
| PGA Championship | T60 | T33 | T2 | T60 | ||
| U.S. Open | T7 | 3 | 2 | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | T20 | NT | T3 | CUT | T23 | CUT |
Win Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Major Championship Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Top-5 Finishes | Top-10 Finishes | Top-25 Finishes | Events Played | Cuts Made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 9 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 9 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 9 |
| Totals | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 25 | 58 | 37 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (2017 PGA – 2021 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2021 PGA – 2021 Open Championship)
Team Appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Africa): 2002
Professional
- World Cup (representing South Africa): 2011
- Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019
Images for kids
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Oosthuizen at the 2007 Valle Romano Open in Spain.
See also
In Spanish: Louis Oosthuizen para niños
- 2005 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of golfers with most European Tour wins
