Former Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen returns to Scotland, the Home of Golf, looking bring his experience to bear over the challenge of links golf to be faced at Castle Stuart this week.
Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews with a convincing seven stroke margin of victory and will be attempting to win a third title of the season at this week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
And the South African, who lost a play-off for the Masters Tournament to Bubba Watson in April, is relishing the opportunity of testing his game against the course and the vagaries of the weather.
“Scotland for golf is a great place,” said Oosthuizen. “It's a special place to be and when you walk on these links golf courses, it's just something really special. It's nice to be on a golf course that's a bit different, a lot of shot making and just the way it was supposed to be from the start.”
While Oosthuizen didn’t play last year, he liked what he saw as he flew over the course on his way in to Inverness Airport.
“From what I've heard, it's a great track. So if the weather stays this way, it will be difficult. But links golf should be harsh weather. It should be rainy. It should be windy. Otherwise, it's not the way it should be.”
Oosthuizen is playing his first event on European soil of the season looking to regain the form which saw him win twice earlier in the year with victories in the Africa Open and the Maybank Malaysian Open as he prepares for two weeks of links golf here at Castle Stuart and then next week at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
“I've been up and down the last two-and-a-half months, after Malaysia, not really playing very well and I’ve just been working on a few things again,” he said. “It's slowly getting there.
“I worked with Pete (Cowen) on Saturday and found something and I've started hitting it nicely. I need to play well this week to just get confidence a bit up for next week.”
