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July 27, 2010

Loran Smith: Golf's international flavor comes through

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Louis Oosthuizen’s name identifies his ancestral roots in South Africa and perhaps explains his route from journeyman golfer to the most dominating performer in the British Open championship since Tiger Woods.

The player’s guide for the oldest golfing major offered little information about the 27-year-old South African, who turned professional eight years ago and has but one European Tour title to his credit.

Mere survival has been a stiff challenge for the native of Pinnacle Point, where there have been discoveries of human behavior dating back 165,000 years. Pinnacle Point, near Mossel Bay, is on the Garden Route of South Africa’s east coast, where golf courses abound, but if it weren’t for countryman Ernie Els’ foundation, a golfing career might not have taken shape for the latest major champion.

With his name, you quickly surmise that Oosthuizen’s family tree dates back to the early Dutch settlers who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the 16th and 17th centuries. Oosthuizen certainly played with a Voortrekkers spirit on the weekend at St. Andrews. He caught the weather just right on Friday to bolt into the lead and then managed the whipping winds of St. Andrews without faltering in the final two rounds, a memorable performance.

Oosthuizen is one of the new personalities on the golfing scene as the face of the game seems to be changing worldwide, with more and more precocious talents bursting forth.

Golf, truly an international sport, seems to usher a new star onto the stage each year — players like Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, who is still a teenager. McIlroy, even with a second-round 80, rallied to finish third. South Korea sent amateur Jin Jeong who tied for 16th at 4-under par.

The European Tour has gotten stronger, and the majors — long the domain of American players — are taking on a different flavor. The Europeans believe they can win and they have enjoyed notable success on the U.S. tour this season. Counting Els’ two victories in Florida at Doral and Bay Hill, there have been 10 winners of PGA events this season with foreign addresses.

Golf course architects, like Jack Nicklaus, are finding business mostly in Asia, including China, where the next boom in golf is forecast.  Already China has players who are entering international competition and will likely be heard from.

Ishikawa, for example, reflects the new golfing personalities. He has gotten the attention of several international veterans, though the golfing public hardly knows his name. Tom Watson visited with the young Japanese star during the Open championship and has high praise for Ishikawa’s ball striking.

In his last British Open press conference in 2005, Jack Nicklaus was asked about Tiger Woods’ dominance in the game. At the time, it appeared that nobody on the horizon would be able to beat him.

Nicklaus demurred, saying that while Tiger’s performances were extraordinary there is “somebody out there, working right now to beat him.”

At the time Rory McIlroy was still in high school and Ishikawa had barely become a teenager.

“The competition is so keen now, and they have all that equipment and coaching,” said Renton Laidlaw, a longtime BBC personality. “We are getting new stars every day.”

Now that the World Cup is over, Louis Oosthuzien is doing his part to make South Africa’s prominence on the world sports stage continue.



Loran Smith is a contributing columnist for The Daily Citizen. You can write to him at loransmith@sports.uga.edu.

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