Louis Oosthuizen aims to bounce straight back from his play-off heartache at The Masters Tournament when he tees up in this week’s Maybank Malaysian Open.
The South African produced a tremendous performance at Augusta National on Sunday, including a historic albatross two at the second, but could not overcome Bubba Watson in a play-off.
However, the former Open Champion is looking to maintain his fine form at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
“I am still a little disappointed that it didn’t go my way but it is just one of those things,” said Oosthuizen.
“It just makes me want that jacket even more now. Last week certainly has given me a lot of confidence on that golf course because I had never made the cut there but now I know I can play the course.
“I’m just looking to continue my good form really. I think the first round will be pretty tough because of the tiredness, but after that and after some good rest hopefully we can play well. It is a great golf course and if you are playing well there are a lot of birdies to be made out there but you also have to be careful and not be too aggressive.
“I am just going to try and play the way that I have done for the last few weeks. I think anyone that is playing well wants to play tournaments and try to get some wins under your belt.
“Any performance in a Major, whether it is winning, losing a play-of or finishing top three, will give you a lot of confidence going forward. It’s just nice to be playing well – I played well last week having played well in Houston the week before and it is probably the best I have felt going into a Major Championship.”
Oosthuizen is joined by someone who does know what it feels like to wear the Green Jacket – he partners friend and compatriot Charl Schwartzel in the first two rounds.
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champion, admits he was rooting for Oosthuizen during the final round.
“I think it is more difficult to watch than it is to play,” he said. “When you are playing you are in control of the situation but when you are watching you can’t do anything about what is going on out there.
“Obviously it would have been a fairytale story if I had slipped that Jacket on Louis but it wasn’t to be. I think he played the best golf of the week and deserved to win but it just didn’t go his way. Sometimes golf isn’t fair.
Talking about his prospects this week Schwartzel added: “The golf course is in great shape. It was last year and it is the same this year. There are a few fairways out there that are narrower than US Open fairways, but it is in great shape and I actually feel a lot better this year than I did coming here last year when I had obviously had a draining week the week before coming here. I felt good today – I made a few birdies out there and hopefully I can build on that and put on a good performance this week.”
