Oosthuizen trying to escape being the ‘Nearly man’

There’s a British label for athletes like Louis Oosthuizen, people who keep coming close, who have their chances but quite make the most of them: “Nearly men.”

Except for Oosthuizen that’s both unfair and inaccurate.

Sure, he has all those runners-up finishes in the major golf tournaments, six total, at least one in each of the four majors.

Yet he does have a win, in the 2010 British Open and with a one-shot lead going into the final round of this year’s, could very well get another.

Oosthuizen, a South African, is a reminder of another from the Southern Hemisphere, who similarly kept struggling.

Greg Norman of Australia soldiered through criticism and doubt before earning his second win at Royal St. George’s, where this year’s Open, the 149th, is about to reach a dramatic—and possibly ironic--conclusion.

Oosthuizen, in the lead and seemingly in control each of the three rounds, shot a one-under 69 Saturday. And his 54-hole score of 198 is 12-under.

Collin Morikawa, the Cal kid and 2020 PGA champion, who shot 68, is a swing back. Three off the pace after he closed bogey-bogey for 69, is Jordan Spieth.

There’s only one real problem coming in second.  It’s not first. And our sports are all about winning as we’re reminded by Five words after the last putt has been plucked from the cup: “The Champion Golfer of the year.”

The 38-year-old Oosthuizen heard those words once. But as the near-misses grow—he was second to Phil Mickelson at the PGA in May; second to Job Rahm at the U.S. Open in June--so does the impatience.

“Finishing second isn’t great,” Oosthuizen conceded, “so I will play my heart out (Sunday) and see if I can lift the claret jug for the second time in my career.”

Golf is different from most sports. You can’t do much about the opponent—there’s no defense for a well-struck 5-iron—all you can do is play better than he does.

“There’s lots of golf left,” he said before the scheduled final 18 holes. “I’m happy with the lead. “He’d be much happier if he still has it when the tournament is complete.

Morikawa never had played a linksland course, on which the Open always has played since its start in the 1800s, until two week ago when he entered the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club, and that course is only partially a true links.

But if you can play, getting acclimated, learning the subtleties, the unpredictable bounces, may be overrated. The late Tony Lema, who grew up in Oakland and San Leandro, went to the 1964 British and, without preparation, won.

In his very British way of language a Scot asked Lema after his first round, “How did you find the course?” and Lema responded, “I walked out the door from the clubhouse, and there it was.”

While not as flippant, Morikawa can be almost as direct when questioned about what might be going through the mind of a 24-year-old who with a victory would join Tiger Woods as the only golfer to win two majors before his 25thbirthday.

"Yeah,” he said, “that’s an interesting question. “I’ve never been in this position all the previous other times.”

Not to get technical, but since he didn’t win that other major, the delayed PGA at San Francisco’s Harding Park until August 2020, how many previous times had there been.

To me,” he said, avoiding the issue, “to be honest, we build a game plan and . . . and I stick to it.’

Presumably so will Louis Oosthuizen.