Louis Oosthuizen staked a claim for more glory at the home of golf on Thursday after grabbing a share of the first round lead at the Dunhill Links Championship.
The South African lifted his major title at St Andrews last year with victory in The Open and fired his way into contention on Thursday with a six-under opening round 66.
It was a satisfying day’s work for Oosthuizen, who was forced to miss the Pro-Am event last year after tearing ankle ligaments in a hunting accident.
“I couldn’t watch this event last year on TV, I was too upset I wasn’t there,” said Oosthuizen, who heads the leaderboard with Austrian Markus Brier, Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey.
“It’s nice to come back and experience everything again. It was good fun playing a practice round at St Andrews yesterday with my brother. I showed him where a few of my shots ended up and things like that,” Oosthuizen said.
“I suffered the injury three weeks before the event last year and had no chance getting ready for it. It was a big shock for my brother because he was supposed to play, so I promised I would take him this year,” he added. “There’s nothing better than holding the Claret Jug at St Andrews. Hopefully at the end of the week it’s just a different trophy.”
The leaders will be nervously looking over their shoulders at Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who is lurking just one shot off the pace after a 67.
After a stellar season last year which witnessed his first major at the US Open and a dramatic match-winning contribution for Europe in the Ryder Cup, McDowell has struggled to find his form.
However, the 32-year-old Ulsterman, who was one of six players to finish the day at five-under, said he was reaping the benefits of a decision to seek out the advice from former coach Clive Tucker.
“At the USPGA Championship things came to a head,” McDowell said. “Myself and my caddie had to have a bit of a heart-to-heart as to what we were doing and what we needed to change.”
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