Bangkok: Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Champion, is looking to end the year on a high by claiming victory at the Asian Tour’s Thailand Golf Championship at the beautiful Amata Spring Country Club, in Chonburi, Thailand from December 6-9.
Oosthuizen, currently sitting at a career high sixth in the latest world rankings, seems to thrive in Asia. He already has one Asian victory to his name this year after bagging the Maybank Malaysian Open title in April and he nearly added a second last week but narrowly missed out to Italian sensation Matteo Maneserro in a play-off for the Barclays Singapore Open title.
“Since turning pro, I’ve been coming to Asia regularly to play a few events, it’s part of my schedule. After the PGA Tour, I’ll do some events in Asia and then some in South Africa. You know what to expect weather wise, that’s the main thing. The golf courses are always good and we are treated really well. Obviously I enjoyed my win in Malaysia and it will be nice going back to Asia,” he said.
‘Oost’ came agonizingly close to a second Major this year, losing to American Bubba Watson in a play-off for the Masters trophy, and he’s looking forward to renewing battle with the big-hitting American, who has also committed to play in the Thailand Golf Championship, over the Amata Spring Championship course.
“I’ve never played the course before. I have seen it on TV and thought it would be good for me to go. I think it’ll be good course to play. There’s a few of us going from the Nedbank Challenge and it should be a fun trip. We’ll see what the course is like,” said Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen will be joined by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, in a spectacular field of international talent. As the long season draws to a close Oosthuizen was keen to highlight the importance of playing tournaments around the world.
“I think the South African guys are not scared of travelling. Just playing in London or Europe, you’re a long way from home. I’ve got my family most of the times, it’s part of the job. We just like to travel and it’s great to do it. The type of events that Asia has now, the guys will come out to play. You can see more of the guys from around the world coming out to play in Asia,” he said.
Oosthuizen is not the only player coming into form at just the right time. Japanese mega-star Ryo Ishikawa ended a two-year title drought last week when he won the Taiheiyo Masters to become the youngest player ever to record 10 victories on the Japan Tour.
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, winner of the 2011 Open Championship, completes the quartet of Major winners playing the Thailand Golf Championship, which offers a prize fund of US$1 million and is the penultimate event on the 2012 Asian Tour Schedule. The stellar field also includes former world number one Lee Westwood, Ryder Cup hero Sergio Garcia, PGA Tourstar Hunter Mahan and crowd favourite John Daly.
By Indian Sports News Network