Louis Oosthuizen walked away from The Players Championship R12 295 668 richer, after finished in a share for second place with Ian Poulter.
Oosthuizen was unable to convert his 36-hole share of the lead into his first win on US soil as Si Woo Kim showed his mettle on Sunday. The South Korean joined Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia as 21-year-olds, or even younger in Woods’ case, to win twice on the PGA Tour when he claimed the Waterford Crystal and the $1.8-million winner’s purse to go with his 2016 Wyndham Championship win.
Oosthuizen never got it going on Sunday after a double at the par 4 fourth negated his birdie on the second hole. Four pars followed before a bogey on the par 5 ninth, which came after two brilliant shots, and then an unfortunate lie in a sand-filled divot saw him drop to four behind Kim.
The 2010 Open Championship winner got himself back in the mix with a long-range eagle on 11, but that would also signify the turning point in his bid to add The Players to his CV. The 34-year-old failed to get up and down for par on 13 and dropped another shot on 14 to allow his playing partner the space to control his own destiny.
A birdie on 16 and two pars to close helped Oosthuizen match Ian Poulter’s tournament tally of -8, and in the process added a sixth career runner-up finish on the PGA Tour.
Kim moved from 132nd to 21st on the FedExCup table, while Oosthuizen moved up from 75th spot to 32nd.
