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Oosthuizen
was born Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen 1982, October 19, in Mossel
Bay, 34 miles east of Cape Town, South Africa. He comes from a family
that tends a farm back in South Africa.

The family also is
a strong Tennis family, with his brother and father playing Tennis up
to the provincial level but Louis opted for golf instead. He grew up
with Charl Schwartzel and together they won the World Junior Team
Championship in 2000. He also won the Irish Amateur Open Championship
and was a member of the South African team.

Oosthuizen got his
big break in 1999 at the age of 17. He was given membership to the
Ernie Els foundation. Els is the current World No. 6 in golf and a
three time Major winner. The foundation was established to help
identify and develop budding young talents in golf.

Oosthuizen was part
of the foundation for three years. His respect for Ernie Els grew, with
Els always coming to spend time with the boys in the foundation. Els
also ultimately became his mentor.

Turning dream into
reality Oosthuizen turned pro in 2002, but did not join the European
tour until 2004. He won for the first time in 2004 in South Africa
Vodacom Origin of Golf Tour. Other games he has won include the 2007
Dimension Data, and the Telkom PGA Tour.

On the European
scene however, Oosthuizen struggled for the first five years. It was
not until 2009, that he was able to finish Runner Up in the Abu Dhabi
and Qatar Masters. His March 2010 win in the Open de Andalucia coupled
with his runner up finish at Morocco were important because they got
him into a different level in the world of golf. He was now in the top
50 of world rankings, not only was he eligible to play at the Masters,
he could also play at the US Open and Open Championship.

Oosthuizen’s play
is characterized by technical soundness – the straightest drives, the
purest putter, and the best ball striker – and an unshakeable
disposition. He retains his cool under intense pressure. His caddie of
seven years, Zack Rasego has described the relationship he has with his
boss as a very special one. He describes him as down to earth, simple
man who looks at him (Rasego) as a person.

He has been nick
named by other golfers; Shrek, thanks to the gap in is teeth. He even
used to carry a Shrek head cover on his bag but his cabbie has since
removed it. Rasego believes it was bringing him bad luck.

The 27-year-old
brought the field to its knees with an assured display of ball-striking
and control to become the sixth South African major winner, and the
first at the Open since Ernie Els in 2002.

Oosthuizen’s laid back attitude

He then took the
opportunity to give South African legend, Nelson Mandela, birthday
wishes. “I would like to take this opportunity to say happy birthday to
Nelson Mandela back in South Africa.

It seems Oosthuizen
wants to continue with tending farms. No flashy sport cars have been
bought but a John Deere tractor has been purchased for the farm. He
celebrated this maiden major win in style and made his first purchase
with his £850,000 winnings – a custom-made tractor.

He intends to put a
seat for his seven month old daughter, Jana, so that she could follow
him when he works. Oosthuizen is married to Nel-Mare and they have just
that one daughter. His other interests include hunting and watching
movies. He owns a house in Manchester.

Oosthuizen also
said, “We’re going to have a lot of fun. I bought the tractor for my
farm. Being a farm boy it was one of my big dreams.” Oosthuizen, who
had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens and was a 200-1
outsider to win at St. Andrews, he then sank a short par putt at the
18th, took off his cap to acknowledge the thunderous applause from the
crowd that lined the revered fairways, hugged his caddie before
embracing his wife Nel-Mare and young daughter Jana.

He finished seven strokes clear of the closest rival, Lee Westwood. Oosthuizen is the 150th winner of the Open Championship.