Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen secured his place in golf's history books with a victory at the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews. His seven-stroke win placed him alongside South Africans Bobby Locke, Gary Player, and Ernie Els as Open champions. It was his ninth appearance in a major championship, and his success came only four months after his European Tour breakthrough, a victory at the Open de Andalucia de Golf.
Born in Mossel Bay, a small community about 34 miles east of Cape Town, Oosthuizen comes from a farming family. His father and brother were great tennis players, but he opted to play golf. He grew up alongside Charl Schwartzel, and the two won the World Junior team championship in 2000. At age 17 in 1999, Oosthuizen got a big break when he was given one of the first memberships in the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. Its purpose was to identify talented young South African players, give them the resources to improve in golf and provide educational and life-skills assistance. At this stage of his life, things were costly, and he doubted his father would have been able to absorb the costs if he was not a part of the foundation. The financial concerns were eliminated, and Els attended some of the clinics, spending time with the boys and becoming a mentor for both.
Oosthuizen turned professional in 2002 and played on the South African Tour, then joined the European Tour in 2004. He won for the first time in South Africa at the 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour, then the 2007 Dimension Data, and the Telkom PGA Championship. Oosthuizen didn't make substantial progress on the European Tour until 2009, when he had runner-up finishes at Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Masters. He reached the winner's circle in March 2010 when he captured the Open de Andalucia. That win and a runner-up finish the week before in Morocco put him in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking the closing week to reach the Masters. He held a spot in the top 50 to play at the U.S. Open and British Open. Played in 2013, '15, '17, and '19 Presidents Cup matches.
2011 Notes: In his first full season on the PGA Tour, he made 10 of 15 cuts with two top-10 finishes. He ranked 148th in the FedExCup standings.
2012 Notes: Narrowly missed winning his second major championship, falling in the Masters to Bubba Watson in a playoff. Finished 3rd at the Shell Houston Open, 4th at WGC-Bridgestone, and 2nd at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Ended the year 7th in FedExCup standings and 15th on the money list. On the European Tour, he won twice, at the Africa Open and Maybank Malaysian Open. He finished 3rd in the Race to Dubai.
2013 Notes: Won on the European Tour at the Volvo Golf Champions. He had a nice showing at the Ballantine's Championship in April, with four under-par rounds to finish 5th, two strokes out of the Brett Rumford/Marcus Fraser/Peter Whiteford playoff. His year was plagued with a lingering neck, back, and hip injury that started around Byron Nelson. He was forced to withdraw from the Nelson, U.S. Open, and British Open before taking two months off in the summer. Around Thanksgiving, he started taking injections in his vertebra joints, which appeared to cure him. He made his first international team at the Presidents Cup and managed a 1-3-1 record in five matches.
2014 Notes: Started the year with a win at the Volvo Golf Champions and then took six weeks off. He returned to play at the Northern Trust, but the next week, his back pain resurfaced in his quarterfinal match at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. He finished T-5th, his best showing of the year on the PGA Tour. After a 25th-place result at the Masters, flew to Malaysia and finished T-2nd at the Maybank Malaysian Open. He missed the cut at The Barclays to end his season 124th in the FedExCup standings and 101st on the money list. Finished the European Tour with a T-6th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the DP World Tour Championship Dubai and climbed to 17th place in the Race to Dubai.
2015 Notes: Played well early in South Africa, finishing T-7th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. This was the first time since 2010 that he did not win in South Africa in January. He played well on the Florida swing, finishing 6th at the WGC-Cadillac Championship and T-9th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After finishing T-19th at the Masters, had two top-10s at the RBC Heritage (T-7th) and WGC-Cadillac Match Play (T-5th). He finished T-2nd at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, marking his fourth top-10 finish in a major. Made a second-nine charge Sunday, carding a 29 (equaling the lowest nine-hole score in U.S. Open history) that included five consecutive birdies (Nos. 12-16) and six over the final seven holes (No. 18). Opened the week with a seven-over 77, placing him 12 strokes behind the first-round leaders. His 199 total over the final 54 holes is the lowest total in U.S. Open history, topping the previous mark held by Kevin Chappell by three shots. Four weeks later, he again came close in a major, finishing T-2nd at the British Open. He played steady all week and finished with a 69 to get into a playoff with Marc Leishman and Zach Johnson. Shot even par over the four playoff holes, but that was one stroke behind Zach Johnson's 1-under total. He finished the PGA Tour season 30th in the FedExCup standings and 22nd on the money list. He finished 6th on the European Tour's Race to Dubai. He went 4-0-1 in his five Presidents Cup matches.
2016 Notes: He claimed his eighth European Tour title with a victory at the ISPS Handa Perth International in Australia. It marked his first victory since the 2014 Volvo Golf Champions. He finished T-7th at the Valspar Championship. He reached the final of the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, where he lost to Jason Day, 5 & 4. Earned a T-15th at the Masters and T-8th at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Ended the year 38th in the FedExCup standings and 37th on the money list. On the European Tour, finished 9th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and 10th in the Race to Dubai. He concluded his year with a 9th at the Hero World Challenge.
2017 Notes: Captured 3rd place at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing one shot from the Hideki Matsuyama/Webb Simpson playoff. He was 5th at the ISPS Handa World's Super 8 Perth. Finished T-2nd at The Players Championship, three strokes behind winner Si Woo Kim. Finished T-2nd at the PGA Championship, two strokes behind winner Justin Thomas. With that result, Oosthuizen had now finished second in all four majors. He started the FedExCup Playoffs with a T-10th at the Northern Trust before ending his season ranked 31st in the FedExCup standings. Oosthuizen posted a 2-2-1 record in the Presidents Cup, the best of any player on the International team. On the European Tour, he ended his year with a T-8th finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Won euro1,190,917 but only played nine events, not enough for credit in the Race to Dubai.
2018 Notes: Played 17 PGA Tour events and made 14 cuts with three top-10 finishes. He placed 69th in the FedExCup standings. He played in 10 European Tour events and made nine cuts with three top-10 finishes. He started the year with a T-7th at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. After flying back, he injured a couple of fingers when he got stuck between two trolleys at the airport. The injury prevented him from playing at the Joburg Open. He returned at the SMBC Singapore Open, where he finished T-49th. Made it through group play at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship but lost in the round of 16 to Ian Poulter 2 & 1 to finish T-9th. He was T-5th at the Fort Worth Invitational. He paired with fellow South African Charl Schwartzel and shot four-under 68 in the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to finish 3rd, two strokes behind winners Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy. He ended his year on the European Tour 3rd at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
2019 Notes: Played in 19 PGA Tour events, making 16 cuts with five top-10 finishes. He ranked 21st in the FedExCup standings. He played in 14 European Tour events, making 14 cuts with seven top-10 results. He was 8th in the Race to Dubai. He started the year T-5th at the CIMB Classic. He won the South African Open for his ninth European Tour title. He started the final round with a three-stroke lead and cruised to a six-shot victory with a closing four-under 67. The victory marked his fifth European Tour win in his home country of South Africa. The next week was T-7th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. He finished 4th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He finished T-2nd with Jason Kokrak at the Valspar Championship, one stroke behind champion Paul Casey. Became the first player to advance out of group play at the WGC-Dell Match Play four times since 2015. Defeated Marc Leishman 2 & 1 with seven birdies against no bogeys in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals for the third time. Lost to eventual champion Kevin Kisner 2 & 1 in the quarterfinals for a T-5th finish. He was T-7th at the U.S. Open. In the FedExCup playoffs, finished T-6th at the Northern Trust, four strokes behind winner Patrick Reed. Was T-11th at the BMW Championship and T-15th at the Tour Championship. In Europe, he ended his year T-6th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He was 2nd at the Emirates Australian Open, a stroke behind winner Matt Jones. He competed in his fourth Presidents Cup and played in four matches with a 2-1-1 record. He halved his singles match with Matt Kuchar.
2020 Notes: Played in 13 PGA Tour events, making 11 cuts with two top-10 finishes. Ranked 65th in the FedExCup standings. Finished 3rd at the WGC-HSBC Champions, two strokes out of the Rory McIlroy/Xander Schauffele playoff. He was 2nd at the South African Open, three strokes behind winner Branden Grace. Placed 5th at the Abu Dhabi Championship, four strokes behind winner Lee Westwood. Was T-6th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, four strokes behind winner Justin Thomas. In the FedExCup playoffs, finished T-13th at the Northern Trust and T-25th at the BMW Championship.
2021 Notes: Played in 21 PGA Tour events making 20 cuts with eight top-ten finishes. He was T-14th in the FedExCup standings. He was 3rd at the 2020 U.S. Open, shooting a final-round 73 to finish eight shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. He was T-6th at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, six shots back of winner Collin Morikawa. At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with partner Charl Schwartzel, he lost to the Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith team in a playoff. It was his ninth runner-up on the PGA Tour and first since the 2019 Valspar Championship (T-2nd). He was T-8th at the Valspar Championship. He finished T-2nd at the PGA Championship, his fifth runner-up in his 49th major championship appearance. He held a share of the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June before finishing 2nd, his second consecutive runner-up in a major championship and sixth of his career. Fell to 1-for-6, converting 54-hole leads/co-leads in majors to victory. He marked his third consecutive top-10 at the U.S. Open. He held the outright lead after each of the first three rounds of the British Open before finishing T-3rd, four back of the winner Collin Morikawa. It was his third consecutive top-three result in major championships. He had rounds of 68-68-69-66 at the 3M Open to finish T-2nd, two shots back of winner Cameron Champ. It was Oosthuizen's 12th career runner-up finish on the PGA Tour. In the FedExCup Playoffs, he didn't play in the Northern Trust and was T-38th at the BMW Championship and T-14th at the Tour Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 12 PGA Tour events making eight cuts with two top-25 finishes. Best finish T-14th at the Shriners Children's Open and WM Phoenix Open. On the DP World Tour played in two events, was T-8th at the BMW International and T-10th at the Alfred Dunhill Links.
Oosthuizen has been bothered by pain in his left elbow for three years, and the problem got worse in November when he was playing in Miami and felt something go wrong in the elbow. It didn't hurt in December, but heading into 2023, he got an MRI and was diagnosed with a tendon tear, with just one small piece of the tendon still attached. He is wearing an elbow brace, and doctors told him he could still play, but further damage would necessitate surgery.
2023 Notes: Was T-7th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, T-28th at the Saudi International, and missed the cut at the International Series Oman. An injury forced him to withdraw before he was able to complete his second round at the Masters.
Oosthuizen grew up on a farm near Mossel Bay in South Africa, and he still has a 150-acre ranch where he mainly grows hay for his brother, who has a dairy farm on about 1,500 acres next to him. He now has a ranch in America. In June of 2021, he bought an 86-acre ranch in Ocala, Florida, and moved from Palm Beach Gardens. Oosthuizen plans to get horses and a few cattle for the open fields.