Golfer Louis Oosthuizen is determined to win the SA Open Championship title despite an ankle injury.
“It has always been one of my dreams to win the SA Open trophy. There is no bigger tournament outside the majors for a South African to win,” he said today.
The 100th SA Open will be held at the Durban Country Club between December 16 and 19.
Oosthuizen hurt his ankle when he stepped into a pothole while on a hunting trip. It has hampered his golf since September.
“I will have to wear a brace for at least three months. The doctors were really worried that I might aggravate the injury by falling over in a bunker or something like that, but they’ve given me the okay to return to competition soon,” he said.
Oosthuizen has followed in the footsteps of Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els by becoming the fourth South African to win the British Open Championship. He did it with a seven-stroke victory at St Andrews in July.
“I guess some people will say that once you’ve won the British Open, what else is left? But I still have a few goals.
“One of those is winning the SA Open. Sure, I want to win a few more majors, but winning the SA Open rates right up there.
“When those players lifted the SA Open trophy, they did it with such pride. When Retief [Goosen] won at Fancourt in 2005 and Ernie [Els] at Humewood, you could see the pride in their faces,” he said.
