Louis Oosthuizen may have endured the disappointment of a sixth runner-up finish at a Major, but he still banked a cool $1,350,000 (R19.2m) at the US Open and moved to 12th in the world rankings.
Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, was in the running at Torrey Pines until a wayward drive at the 17th doomed his title bid after he pulled his tee shot left into bushes and needed a penalty drop.
That effectively ended Oosthuizen’s chance to claim a long-awaited Major victory, but he is still closing in on the top-10 world rankings, which has not included a South African golfer since Branden Grace in 2016.
He also banked a big pay cheque for his standalone finish in second place, while it was also a particularly memorable payday for six out the nine South Africans who made the cut.
Branden Grace (T7) took home $306,893 (R4.3m) for his efforts, Charl Schwartzel finished T19 on two over to take home $125,363 (R1.7m).
Christiaan Bezuidenout, who was tied for 31st, earned $71,030 (R1m), while Dylan Frittelli banked $32,351 (R461,685) after finishing tied for 46th performance.
On his Major debut, Wilco Nienaber finished tied for 68th and walked away with $22,814 (R325,582).
