THE 151ST OPEN

July 20, 2023

Louis Oosthuizen

Quick Quotes

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, my round was poor, but it was fun to see Chris to really play well. Yeah, you know, he did everything right. He hit the ball really well and then when he was in trouble he sort of just got himself back in play.

He rolls the ball beautiful on the greens so it was fun to watch.

Q. What do you think of his game overall? Has he got the game to go far?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Well, results say it, so obviously he's a good player and he's come through lots of things in South Africa and playing college golf in the U.S.; won the Amateur Championship. He's got game.

Q. How well do you know him?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I know him well. He was in my foundation so I know him pretty well.

Q. What is it like it see somebody in your foundation come out and play this well?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: It's -- for us it's great because it shows us we're doing the right things, you know, what we're doing with the youngsters coming through the ranks. It's great to see them. We have a few. Martin Foster turned professional and is doing well.

It just shows us that we're on the right track and keep doing what we're doing. GolfRSA is doing a great job bringing these kids to lots of tournaments and helping them prepare probably way better than we prepared when we were that age.

It's really nice to see.

Q. How old was he when you first saw him?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: He was still taller than me then. I want to say -- I'm not sure. I want to say 14, 15, around there.

Q. And he was taller?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Oh, yeah. He was always tall. I got a good picture with them as youngsters, and then obviously now when they're grown up it's not fun being next to them.

Yeah, they're a good bunch of kids.

Q. He was very calm out there today.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, no, he's got a great demeanor. Great kid. I mean, he's very patient and he's got -- like I say, he's got game.

Q. You say he's a kid --

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, he's been in my foundation; I know he's not a kid.

Q. If he came to you and said, when is the time for me to look at taking the next step, what do you say?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I always feel the player itself will know when he's ready, I think. I don't know if he's going to play much more amateur golf. I do not know.

But always saying you will know when you're ready. You'll definitely know. If you feel like, man, I don't really want to play more amateur events, I want to try as a pro, then do it.

I think it's too personal. It's not something I can tell him no, you're not ready or you are ready. That's how I felt when I turned professional.

Q. How old was he?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Oh, I want to say around 14. Yeah, I want to say around there. I'm not sure on what age he was.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Beat me by eight shots, yes, that is the first time. But I mean, look, he's playing great -- good golf. The length he hits off the tee, you know, there is a lot of bunkers not in play which is a big advantage.

But you still need to hit it pretty good, you know, line off the tee.

Yeah, he's a good player.

Q. Can you give the short version of what your foundation would've done for him. I assume resources and training. What else is there?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, we got lots of tiers we go through. Depends what type of player you are. Some at the beginning level we go to schools and try and find someone that can play -- can swing a club.

Other than that, yeah, resources and just making sure they have a routine and things they do and get as much exposure as they can.

If they go and play, obviously try and help them with that. We started the foundation pretty small, the academy. It was just local area, just in the Southern Cape back in 2009. We grew pretty quick after my Open win.

So finding -- like I say, finding anyone that can come through and eventually turn pro and make a success of it is just dream come true for us.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, so our academy is not like an academy like a building you go to. It's not like that. It's more the support that we give behind the scenes and we help with coaching prefer they have a coach of the academy and all these things. Yeah.

Q. He's got almost 24 hours before he tees up again. What's that going to be like for somebody that's not used to that?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: You know, I think he's calm enough and chilled enough to really go out -- he'll probably hit a few balls this afternoon and just relax.

It is difficult. It's not easy when you have a big -- when you have a big time off. If you're playing well, you want to keep going. You would like to play tomorrow morning early.

Yeah, it's part of the whole thing. You need to learn what to do in those situations, and I think he'll be fine. He'll just take it easy.

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