Louis Oosthuizen faces stiff competition at Colonial Country Club this week, where the world number 14 aims to begins his march towards the US Open.
Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson head up the favourites in Texas, followed by a smorgasbord of hopefuls that includes Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed, and Adam Scott.
The $ 6.7-million tournament has been rebranded as the Dean & DeLuca Invitational after Crowne Plaza withdrew as title sponsor.
For three months Oosthuizen has struggled on the greens and he missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open and the AT&T Byron Nelson.
On the PGA Tour this season he ranks seventh in both ball striking and total driving, but lists 191st for strokes gained: putting.
Make no mistake, the 2010 Open Champion has game. He’s made six cuts in eight PGA Tour starts this season, including a runner-up result to Jason Day at the WGC-Dell Match Play and a tie for 15th at The Masters.
The Mossel Bay local will draw on past experiences at Colonial, where he tied for 19th in 2012 and 38th in 2014. On both occasions he played the second and third rounds in nine-under-par, combined.
Last year he withdrew due to injury after posting rounds of 71, 68, 71.
Oosthuizen has all of the ingredients to challenge for the title this week and, with all eyes on the marquee names, could get the job done.
