KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA |
If it’s Sunday,
this must be Malaysia.
Runner-up at The Masters and third in
Houston two weeks ago, South Africa’s Louis
Oosthuizen jetted 10,000 miles last week,
crossed 12 time zones and played 26 holes
Sunday at the rain-delayed Malaysian Open.
And he won.
The 29-year-old South African defied the
psychological fatigue of being edged in extra
holes by Bubba Watson at Augusta National
and shrugged off the physical tiredness of a
30-hour journey to win by three shots at Kuala
Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
What jet lag?
“I thought I was going to be a lot more tired,”
said Oosthuizen, after recording the fifth victory
by a South African on the 2012 Race to Dubai.
“It was a long journey to get here, and I have
to be honest and say that I didn’t expect to play
this well because of the tiredness.
“The one thing I did know was that the game
was there, so that helped a lot. I was pretty
tired at points in those first couple of rounds
but overall it has been great and I am over the
moon with the result.”
Oosthuizen carded a closing 68 for a 17-under-
par total of 271, with all four of his rounds sub-70.
One clear of Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher
overnight, Oosthuizen ground down his nearest
challenger.
Oosthuizen began the day by playing the last
eight holes of his third round in level par, and
was briefly caught when Gallacher birdied the
15th and 16th.
The 37-year-old bogeyed the 17th, however,
allowing Oosthuizen to preserve his one-shot
lead going into the final round.
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