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Oosthuizen held on and won for the second week in a row on the DP World Tour as the LIV Golf player keeps the rival tour’s streak alive.
Louis Oosthuizen went back-to-back on the DP World Tour as the South African followed up his Alfred Dunhill Championship victory with one at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
He is the second straight member of LIV Golf to win two weeks straight in the “Opening Swing,” a six-event series on the DP World Tour held in Australia, South Africa and Mauritius.
Fellow Stinger GC teammate and South African Dean Burmester was the first when he won the Joburg Open and the Investec South African Open Championship.
Last week’s win for Oosthuizen was his first in five years. Instead of waiting another five years for a victory, the 2010 Open Champion made good just one week later. This marked the first time in his career that he had gone back-to-back.
“Golf is the strangest thing. The last five weeks, I’ve not done a lot with golf. I’ve played a few rounds, and when I got to Leopard Creek, I was working on a small thing,” Oosthuizen said. “I started hitting it really good. I know I’m putting well, and then I just carried on with that momentum.”
He fired off a final round 69 to get to 17-under in the tournament. He held off Laurie Canter by two shots for the win.
Oosthuizen entered Sunday with a one-shot lead at Heritage La Réserve Golf Club. However, he quickly saw it disappear as Canter, Sebastian Söderberg, and Jacques de Villiers all held the lead at some point.
There was some drama over the back nine for the LIV golf captain and those battling, but his 69 was enough to get him the win.
“I started very poorly. That errant second shot on 16 made it interesting, but I hit a few good shots coming in… I’m glad I held onto that one,” he said. “I’m glad I could pull this off this week. It’s a dream come true to play a tournament on a golf course you helped design and end up winning it. This is the first event my daughters have been to where I won — this is very special.”
Oosthuizen dropped a shot after he missed the green at the fourth. Then there was a two-shot swing on the par-5 5th as he needed to drop off the tee. De Villiers got up and down for birdie on that hole.
De Villiers took the solo lead on the 6th after he made an excellent up-and-down. However, Oosthuizen didn’t let that affect him. He took advantage of the 7th and 8th holes, which helped him regain a share of the lead.
His long birdie putt on the 10th was a momentum shifter for the 41-year-old. However, De Villiers didn’t go quietly. He made birdies on 12 and 13 to share the lead.
But the South African played well down the stretch. A birdie on the 18th solidified the two-shot win.
This victory from the 14-time PGA Tour winner extends LIV Golf’s win streak to five in a row. It’s been all LIV Golf since Min Woo Lee won the first “Open Swing” event. Burmester won the following two events. Joaquin Niemann won the ISPS Handa Australian Open, and now Oosthuizen has claimed the final two tournaments.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
