It is a touch ironic that when the Irish Amateur Open was discontinued in 1959, the principle reason was due to lack of foreign interest. Following on from English man Richard McEvoy's win over his Walker Cup team mate Michael Hoey in a three-hole play-off last year, South African Louis Oosthuizen yesterday carried off the trophy at Royal Dublin, keeping it out of Irish hands.
The 19-year-old started the final round yesterday afternoon five shots behind leader Paul Bradshaw but finished one shot better overall with 283, a closing 68 finally earned the youngster his first Irish title.
Chasing too was Ireland's Noel Fox and Robert Forsythe, both on four-under-par with Royal Dublin's Lee Owens and City of Derry's David Jones on one under and Justin Kehoe on level par. In the end those challenges faded, Fox picking up bogeys on nine, 13 and 14 and a double bogey on 17 to finish with a 76 for fifth place and Kehoe going two places better with a final round of 70.
It was Oosthuizen's front nine that propelled him into the lead of the AIB-sponsored championship. Birdies at the first three holes gave him an excellent start before he added the par five eighth and par three ninth, which brought him impressively to the turn at six- under-par.
"It was the first three holes that put me on track. I knew I was putting well. I thought that if I could just hit the greens, I could make a few putts," said Oosthuizen.
"Chipping was the most difficult thing because the greens were hard. I'm used to the wind. That was no problem as I play most of my golf at Musselbay, which is on the coast in South Africa." A member of the Ernie Els Foundation, which funds talented golfers in South Africa, Oosthuizen had an anxious wait for Bradshaw to finish and over the closing holes, it looked like the tournament would again go into a play-off.
Much to his frustration though, the 23-year-old English player, who went around with just 21 putts on Saturday, simply couldn't hole any yesterday and in the end it cost him dearly.
"That was the story of the day," he said. "The putts just didn't drop for me. I putted like an idiot really. I horseshoed one on 15, lipped out on 16, missed a four-footer on 17 and then missed a seven-footer on 18. The wind got up a bit and came from a different direction but I played OK, it was just my putting that let me down."
Indeed a par for Bradshaw on the 18th would have ensured a play-off. Cautiously playing an iron off the tee where Oosthuizen had boomed a drive 30 minutes before, Bradshaw hit the green 60 feet from the pin before taking three to get down.
Kehoe's two-under-par 70 with four birdies and two bogeys was the third best score of the final round, Stackstown's Mark McDermott shooting a 68 to match Oosthuizen for the lowest of the afternoon.
McDermott finished eight shots behind Oosthuizen in a group of four, Ballyclare's Johnny Foster, Waterville's Mark Murphy and Stuart Manley from Mountain Ash included. An ugly opening 78 on Friday and a 75 yesterday morning had extinguished any hopes of McDermott climbing up the leader board and into contention with the English and South African players.
