It’s often said that an uncluttered mind is the key to playing good golf, and that certainly was the case for Louis Oosthuizen as he came perilously close to breaking 60 at the LIV Golf Greenbrier tournament over the weekend.
The 41-year-old signed for a closing 10-under 60, to end in a tie for eighth on 14-under overall.
The 2010 Open Championship winner finished five shots behind American Brooks Koepka, who beat Spaniard Jon Rahm in a playoff.
Though he was swinging well in the first two rounds, the scores were not coming just yet.
59 watch for @Louis57TM 👀
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 18, 2024
He needs 2 birdies from his final 2 holes 💪#LIVGolf @stingergc_ pic.twitter.com/hvGjuSXOhR
‘I said screw it’
“I've been playing well. First round I was just trying — I think I was trying too hard, thinking too much on a few things in my swing, and I said screw it after that and I started playing a lot better,” said Oosthuizen.
The format of LIV Golf means players all start at different points on the course, and Oosthuizen began his round on the par four seventh. Birdies on eight of his first 12 holes meant Oosthuizen had already started thinking of shooting a sub-60 on the par 70 course.
“When we teed off one, I had six holes left, I said to Colin, three more, let's do it. Then the rain just was there, and I squirted my driver, and like I said, I made bogey. But then made a long putt immediately to get back.
“So all of a sudden I had four more holes left for birdie. Then made a great putt on three-over the edge, and then I knew I had to birdie the last three. Birdied four, and then five, I just pulled it, and I knew it was done. Then the last putt was just a bonus.”
A hot putter, of course, went a long way towards Oosthuizen signing for a superb score.
“I made so many putts today. I'm going to go watch it all because I've never seen myself make that many putts in my life. So yeah, it was pretty cool to be on that end for a change.
“We all know it's that type of golf course. If you're playing well and you start making putts, you feel like you can shoot a low number. To make it happen, it was pretty cool to be on that side of it.”