By Patrick Johnston
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – After playoff heartbreak at the U.S.
Masters, Louis Oosthuizen spent every minute of his near 30-hour journey to Malaysia thinking about what more he could have
done at Augusta.
South Africa walks to the 14th tee during final round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf
Club in Augusta, Georgia, April 8, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The 2010 British Open champion lost on the
second extra hole to American Bubba Watson at the Masters late on Sunday before making the lengthy journey across continents
to compete in the European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned Malaysian Open.
With his compatriot, friend and 2011 Masters
champion Charl Schwartzel alongside him, the weary South African said on Wednesday the long journey had allowed him time to
reflect on his green jacket near miss.
“Every second on the flight I was thinking about what I would have done
different,” the gap-toothed 29-year-old told reporters while slumped on a sofa at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country
Club.
“But I think there probably isn’t much I would have done different. I felt like I gave it my all, didn’t throw
anything away, played the best I probably could have coming down the stretch in a major and I was outplayed.
“Being
that close to the green jacket is tough to get over it immediately but I think time will heal it and it just gives me a bit
more confidence when I put it on eventually that I will be over it.”
Schwartzel said he had been a nervous watcher of
the final round action and was full of praise for his friend, though he thought it best keep Masters talk to a minimum on the
flight.
“We have known each other for a long time and you know what a player feels like so sometimes you just don’t
have to say anything, you know what he is going through,” an exhausted looking Schwartzel told reporters.
“He is the
type of guy that seems to get over things a little bit quicker and like I said, sometimes you don’t have to say anything you
just have to be a friend.
“It would have been quite a story if that had happened (Oosthuizen winning). I think Louis
probably played the best but it just didn’t turn out his way and sometimes it feels very unfair.”
A NICE
SLEEP
The South African duo left Augusta on Monday morning and touched down in Kuala Lumpur late on Tuesday night with
Oosthuizen’s family making the late decision to join him on the journey to Malaysia.
“We arrived last night at 11 at
the hotel so yeah…,” Oosthuizen said, his tiredness leaving him unable to finish his sentence. ”
I have got my wife
and two kids with me this week, they decided late to come with which is nice. I went to bed at two this morning and just
before five I woke up with my little girl watching movies so yeah, not a lot of sleep.”
The duo competed in the pro-am
on Wednesday and have been given an 0800 tee-off time in Thursday’s first round where they will play alongside Thailand’s
Thongchai Jaidee.
Asked if he was disappointed organisers could not afford him a chance to rest on Thursday morning,
the optimistic Oosthuizen was looking at the positives.
“I was thinking I would have a nice sleep after,” he said,
flashing a grin. “Sometimes it is also good to just get a tournament underway. It will be a good round to see how the
concentration will be.”