Louis Oosthuizen almost always delivers his best stuff at Majors, and that rang true on Thursday as the US Open got under way at Pebble Beach, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
SA’s No 1 ensured that the country’s flag moved on to the first page of the leaderboard early on as he holed out from just under 100 yards on his second hole. His bright start included a number of fairways found, and he moved to -3 for the day when he holed his birdie putt on the par-5 14th from under eight feet.
A wayward tee ball on 16 saw him unable to recover as he handed one shot back.
Oosthuizen then rattled off a number of pars before dialling in a wedge from 110 yards on the fourth. A tap-in birdie got him rolling again and he followed that up with another at the next, this time striping his iron on the long par-3 to eight feet.
Unfortunately, he was unable to take advantage of another solid tee shot on the par-5 sixth as he settled for a par.
The 36-year-old closed with a hole-out birdie from the greenside bunker to join the early leaders – American pair Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler – by posting a 66.
‘I think just winning a Major is already sacred enough to me. To be able to win a US Open would be very magical,’ he said post-round.
‘It would be, I think, something that anyone can dream of, winning an Open and the US Open. I think Pebble to me is probably one of my favorite, if not the — my favorite venue for a US Open. You’re not going to beat the scenery and everything about this golf course, and it’s just the weather we’re having at the moment, it makes this week really special.’
Countryman Erik van Rooyen had two doubles on the back nine and a bogey on either side, but still managed to card a 71 to sit level through 18.
Impressive young amateur Jovan Rebula rattled off four front-side birdies to make the turn one-under par before a run of five pars helped settle the nerves.
A bogey at 17 saw him give back the gain achieved two holes before as he signed for a 70.
Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
