Oosthuizen in prime position at Open as he chases elusive second major

By Mark TallentireUpdated July 16, 2021 â€" 9.04amfirst published July 15, 2021 â€" 10.48pm

Sandwich, Kent: It is no surprise when Louis Oosthuizen’s name sits on top of the leaderboard. The man with a full set of second-place finishes in majors is usually a contender after all, but this one was noteworthy as it is the first time he has done so in a British Open played anywhere but St Andrews, a course where he has slept on the lead five times and won his only major (in 2010). He also lost in a three-man play-off five years later.

Anyone who witnessed the first seven holes of his first round and saw the South African reach the eighth tee at level par may have been surprised at the upshot, however, as from that point in he made birdies at six of the 11 holes to finish on six-under and bogey free.

“I think I probably would have taken seven pars again,” he said wistfully. “I’ve learnt over the years playing major championships that patience is the key thing and even if you make bogeys, to know that a lot of people are going to make bogeys.”

Ooosthuizen finished second to Phil Mickelson in May’s PGA Championship and third in the US Open last month, and at the age of 38 he must be wondering when, or if, he is going to land a second major. That said he says he finds it easy to compartmentalise the near-misses, loves his Ping Voss putter dearly - he used it only 26 times in this round - and manages to switch off from the day job by driving a tractor around at the ranch he recently purchased in Florida.

“Louis is very comfortable in himself, and what’s where you need to be when you’re playing majors,” said Padraig Harrington, who has won three of them himself. “He does his thing and doesn’t try to be anybody else but Louis, and you see that with guys who are playing well. They’re happy with who they are.”

A shot further back on 65 are the American left-hander Brian Harman, who made birdies at the first and the last, and his countryman Jordan Spieth, whose good run started at the fifth and from where had four consecutive birdies before adding another couple on the back nine.

Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open in 2010 and holds a one-shot lead after one round this year.Credit:Getty

“To be honest, the path that I’m on and where I’ve been before in the game, I feel really good about my chances going forward, as good as they have been historically,” said Spieth, the 2017 champion.

Cameron Smith finished with a one-under 69 after teeing off in mid-afternoon and playing through the most difficult conditions of the day, the best of the Australian players in the first round.

“I thought I could get two or three back at the end but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “Aussie golf the last couple of months has been pretty strong and I’m sure the boys will get up for it tomorrow.”

Stewart Cink, playing his 22nd Open in his 49th year, continued a resurgence which has seen him win twice this season and had a 66 to share fourth place with a group that includes South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli and Mackenzie Hughes of Canada.

British Open leaderboard

-6: Louis Oosthuizen

-5: Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman

-4: Mackenzie Hughes, Dylan Frittelli, Stewart Cink, Benjamin Hebert, Webb Simpson.

Australians:

-1: Cameron Smith (tied 32nd)

E: Lucas Herbert (tied 48th)

+1: Brad Kennedy (tied 74th)

+2: Matt Jones (tied 91st)

+3: Jason Scrivener, Adam Scott (tied 115th)

+4: Min Woo Lee, Aaron Pike (tied 127th)

+5: Jason Day, Marc Leishman (tied 137th)

+10: Deyen Lawson (tied 155th)

“That’s a big part of links golf, to do the right guesswork,” said Cink, champion 12 years ago. “I’m hoping to get in the mix and give this thing a run like I did in 2009 and try to draw on some of those memories.”

Joining a large group on three-under which included Andy Sullivan, who was out in the first game at 6.35am, was 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, and Tommy Fleetwood, whose effort was especially commendable given his late finish. Rory McIlroy was out in the same group as Smith and he made birdie at the last to finish on level par and earn hearty cheers from the grandstands before they headed for home.

The big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau adopted a conservative approach in the face of knee-high, lush rough, opted to use irons on some of the tees, but still hit just four of the 14 fairways. The 18th was the only one he found with a booming drive, however, but he missed a 12-footer for birdie that would have got him home in level par.

“If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway that’s great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks,” he mused. “When I did get it outside of the fairway, like in the first cut and what-not, I caught jumpers [fliers] out of there and I couldn’t control my wedges.”

Smith in the hunt

Cameron Smith was the leading light in the Australian challlenge to secure the first Open title since Greg Norman prevailed on these same links back in 1993, five shots off the lead but a valid challenger as he played through the most difficult part of the day and finished in cold and grey conditions at around 8pm.

“The first four or five holes I was on the back foot and got through there level par and it was like a win for me,” he said. “I thought I could get one or two back on the last two or three holes but it wasn’t to be. I thought something in the 60s today was going to go a long way for the rest of the week though.”

Smith is staying at the Prince’s hotel near the adjoining course and can get on to the course relatively easy so he spent the hours waiting for his late tee-time watching golf on the TV with a bit of stretching thrown in and was thus spared the traffic nightmare that caught out some of the
field who are staying in nearby villages and towns.

Australia’s Cameron Smith has backed his countrymen to find form in Friday’s second round.Credit:AP

Lucas Herbert, the Irish Open champion, was held up in traffic before his round but managed to overcome his rushed preparations and produce a level-par 70.

“I feel like I’ve done no damage with that first round, but I would’ve liked a couple [of shots] less, I can’t be too upset,” he said.

“We had to get a police escort in the end to get here and I was still really late, which is pretty much how I operate anyway. That might not have helped with that slow start.”

Herbert began with a double-bogey six a the 1st, was three-over at the turn and then reeled off a run of four birdies in five holes from the 10th to get into the red numbers although a bogey at the 15th dragged him back.

Min Woo Lee.Credit:Getty

“I felt like I was half asleep until the back nine and then things started to kick off and got myself back into it,” he added.

Brad Kennedy was another to fall victim of the traffic after setting out from Walmer, 11km away, with three hours to spare for his 12.42pm tee-time and arrived on the property an hour-and-a-half later, having contemplated leaving the car at the side of the road and walking to the course with his caddie and clubs.

Perhaps it helped take his mind off the situation in what is only his fourth major, however, and after finishing on one-over after a sandy par at the last - “it’s given me a nice taster for tomorrow morning” - he is optimistic of making it to the weekend having got back into it with a 12-foot birdie putt at the 14th.

“I’ll rest up now and have a good feed. I still feel I’ve got a few things to do in my career before I finish and part of it is playing well in tournaments like this.”

Min Woo Lee, the Scottish Open champion, signed for a 74 after a seven at the 15th, Jason Day was a shot worse off with his seven coming at the ninth , Aaron Pike had the same number at the seventh for a 74 and Marc Leishman had three bogeys and a double bogey for his 75 and five-over.

Jason Scrivener was three over with birdies at the second and sixth offset by five bogeys, the same score as Adam Scott, Matt Jones was two over after a birdie at the last, and Deyen Lawson was joint last at 10-over, although in good company alongside Mickelson.

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