Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen is pretty much the favourite and has his eyes firmly set on claiming back-to-back SA Open titles after a blazing third round of 64, which has made him the leader on 15 under par heading into Sunday’s final round, writes ANDRE HUISAMEN.
The tournament host was very quick out of the blocks on Saturday morning as he made three consecutive birdies on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th holes, respectively, and according to Oosthuizen it was largely down to a better putting display than Friday.
‘Yesterday I worked a little bit on the putting afterwards and just found a little thing that I thought might get my rhythm a little bit better. The speed and lines were pretty decent on the greens, so very happy with that score,’ said Oosthuizen, who cut a frustrated figure the day before after a round of 69.
Oosthuizen believes that all aspects of his game are starting to tick at the moment, giving him a lot of chances to score low.
‘I’m hitting it good off the tee, irons play really good, so I’m giving myself loads of opportunities – I just need to keep the putting rolling.’
The better conditions on Saturday also made it easier for Oosthuizen to take an attacking approach after Friday’s strong winds at the Randpark Golf Club.
‘It was a little windy in the beginning but it quickly died down, so it was perfect conditions for golf. All of us have been waiting for the thunderstorms to come but we’ve been very lucky so far,’ he said.
Oosthuizen, though, remains optimistic that he can lift the SA Open title for a second successive year, despite not getting ahead of himself and has emphasised a victory will mean a great deal to him.
‘Getting my name on the trophy again will mean the world to me, as well as defending it and being the host for the week will make it extra special.’
