Oosthuizen joins elite Masters group
Source: Agencies |
April 11, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHAMPION Bubba Watson will always have the prestigious green jacket but, once the dust settles, the most stirring memory of the 76th Masters will be the wonder shot conjured up by Louis Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen, who romped to a seven-stroke victory at the 2010 British Open, triggered one of the loudest roars ever heard at Augusta National with his astonishing albatross two at the par-5 second.
The gap-toothed South African with the silky swing holed out from 253 yards with a four-iron to record the first albatross, or double-eagle, on that hole and only the fourth ever achieved at the Masters.
Playing with eventual winner Watson in Sunday's final round, Oosthuizen watched as his ball landed on the front of the green in between the two bunkers and bounced along before rolling up the hill.
The fans crammed around the green applauded politely but the ball kept on rolling, tracking sharply from left to right before dropping into the cup with what appeared to be its dying breath. The cheering reached an ear-splitting crescendo and the sound reverberated around the Georgian pines as players on every part of the course were alerted to something very special.
Oosthuizen thrust both arms skywards before high-fiving his caddie. Watson considered joining the celebrations but thought better of it. "When we were walking up 18 during regulation, I told Louis I just wanted to run over there and give him a high-five," Watson said after beating the South African on the second extra hole to claim his first major title.
Gene Sarazen was the first of the "albatross" men at the Masters, in the fourth round of the 1935 edition. Australian Bruce Devlin followed suit in the first round of the 1967 Masters and American Jeff Maggert grabbed his albatross in the fourth round in 1994.
Oosthuizen, who romped to a seven-stroke victory at the 2010 British Open, triggered one of the loudest roars ever heard at Augusta National with his astonishing albatross two at the par-5 second.
The gap-toothed South African with the silky swing holed out from 253 yards with a four-iron to record the first albatross, or double-eagle, on that hole and only the fourth ever achieved at the Masters.
Playing with eventual winner Watson in Sunday's final round, Oosthuizen watched as his ball landed on the front of the green in between the two bunkers and bounced along before rolling up the hill.
The fans crammed around the green applauded politely but the ball kept on rolling, tracking sharply from left to right before dropping into the cup with what appeared to be its dying breath. The cheering reached an ear-splitting crescendo and the sound reverberated around the Georgian pines as players on every part of the course were alerted to something very special.
Oosthuizen thrust both arms skywards before high-fiving his caddie. Watson considered joining the celebrations but thought better of it. "When we were walking up 18 during regulation, I told Louis I just wanted to run over there and give him a high-five," Watson said after beating the South African on the second extra hole to claim his first major title.
Gene Sarazen was the first of the "albatross" men at the Masters, in the fourth round of the 1935 edition. Australian Bruce Devlin followed suit in the first round of the 1967 Masters and American Jeff Maggert grabbed his albatross in the fourth round in 1994.
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