Louis Oosthuizen had little hesitation in asking Presidents Cup teammate Branden Grace to partner up for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Zurich Classic – What you need to know
The tournament changes to a new two-man team format consisting of foursomes and four-balls and will see a number of high-profile combinations turn out at the TPC Louisana.
Rickie Fowler joins Jason Day while Ryder Cup teammates Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose have also joined forces in what promises to be an exciting addition to the PGA calendar.
Oosthuizen and Grace proved to be a formidable partnership during the 2015 Presidents Cup where they went unbeaten. On day one they beat Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar 3&2 in the foursomes, in Friday’s fourballs they blasted Dustin Johnson and Spieth 4&3, on Saturday morning they defeated Reed and Fowler 3&2 in the foursomes and in the afternoon it was the turn of Bubba and Holmes to be outbattled (1up) in the final fourballs.
Grace went a step further by beating Kuchar to leave Korea with a 5-0 record while Oosthuizen halved with Reed.
‘I spoke to him immediately and he said he was up for playing and it was a fairly easy decision,’ Oosthuizen said of his decision to ask Grace to join him.
‘Simple as that,’ agreed Grace.
‘We’ve been mates for a long time and we play good together,’ Grace said. ‘Obviously with our history at the Presidents Cup, it’s been great and I think this is a good chance to get a win under the belt as a team.
Grace is looking to keep mistakes to a minimum this week, one of their strengths during their partnership during the Presidents Cup.
‘At the Presidents Cup in Korea, we both played a type of game where neither of us really did anything wrong. Neither of us made any silly mistakes and that’s really the key, especially in a team format,’ he said.
Oosthuizen believes Grace has plenty of birdies in him which is ideal in the better ball format.
‘We gel well together,’ said Oosthuizen.
‘There’s not a lot of “sorrys” from either of us when you hit a bad shot because we are obviously not trying to hit bad shots. Once Gracie gets his putter going, he can make quite a few birdies in a round. That’s always nice and can come in handy, especially in the best-ball format.’
Oosthuizen is a fan of the format and is hoping to take the positives this week into the Presidents Cup later in the year.
‘There are not many tournaments where we can play as a team, so in that respect the Presidents Cup is a highlight for our careers, but I would love to get a victory at the Zurich Classic,’ Oosthuizen said.
