Louis Oosthuizen will be looking for better this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson after an uninspiring weekend at The Players Championship that comprised rounds of 74 and 72. He shot 72 and 67 on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The South African has enjoyed a good season so far and ranks 47th in the FedEx Cup standings, but he’s played a limited schedule and endured mixed fortunes with one missed cut and two top-10s in seven starts.
He was tied-seventh at the Valspar Championship, but missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open a week later. Overall this season, on both the PGA and European Tours, the world number 13 has recorded one win and seven top-20 finishes.
His form suggests he should be a contender at TPC Four Seasons this week, but the possibility of another surprise missed cut is also there.’King Louis’ could do with some good publicity after saying no to attending the Olympics.
This week’s field is without Jason Day, along with a few European heavyweights (Rory McIlroy et al) who have decided to play the Irish Open.
Heading up the rankings is Texas local Jordan Spieth, joined by Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, and Brandt Snedeker.
Oosthuizen will look for a first win on American soil this week, but needs improvement in his short game to achieve it. His statistics paint a picture of an inconsistent game – he ranks in the top-10 for ball striking and total driving, but is 186th in scrambling from the rough (less than 50% success). The 2010 Open Champ has struggled around the greens this season and his putting statistics outside of six feet make for bad reading.
Compleat Golfer’s playing editor will expect to be in contention come Sunday, considering his last outing at TPC Four Seasons resulted in a tie for 11th back in 2014. South African fans can also look forward to seeing Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Dawie van der Walt, Tyrone van Aswegen, and Thomas Aiken this week.
