Louis Oosthuizen will take a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of The Open as he seeks to claim the second Major of his career at Royal St George’s.
Oosthuizen signed for a third round of 69 to climb to 12 under par, one stroke clear of Collin Morikawa and three ahead of Jordan Spieth.
The South African now has the chance to join an elite club of outright wire-to-wire winners of The Open. Since World War II, only three players have managed to win The Open by leading on their own from start to finish. They were Tom Weiskopf in 1973, Tiger Woods in 2005 and Rory McIlroy in 2014.
The rest of the South African challenge also still looks good, with Dylan Frittelli tied sixth on seven under par, and Justin Harding tied ninth on six under par.
“Finishing second isn’t great, so I will play my heart out and see if I can lift the Claret Jug again,†said Oosthuizen, who has a Grand Slam of runner-up finishes in the Majors, and who has finished second in the last two Majors this year alone.
“I think all of us are just human to think of lifting the trophy, and that’s going to be in your mind. But I think you just need to know it and how to handle it. Once we get on the golf course, it’s all golf. You need to believe that you can lift the trophy, as well, and if you think about it beforehand that you might win this championship, I think that’s great, and you have to believe you can do it.†– Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open
