Fresh off his surprise win at the British Open golf championship at St. Andrews, Scotland, South African Louis Oosthuizen is honoring his commitment to play at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters near Stockholm. He is learning what it means to be Open champion, and the enormity of the victory is now sinking in.
He enjoyed flying into Sweden in a private jet, but his modesty is summed up by the fact that his one big luxury so far is not to buy an expensive car or yacht, but a tractor for his farm. "Being a farm boy, it was one of my big dreams and I got a nice John Deere tractor," said Oosthuizen. "I made sure that there is space for my little daughter in her car seat next to me, so, yeah, we are going to have a lot of fun in it."
Oosthuizen reportedly is looking forward to getting on the golf course Thursday so he can switch off his phone that has been ringing almost non-stop since capturing his first major title on Sunday. He has had good calls, such as the one from former top player Greg Norman (of Australia), who said he had watched all of the last round, the first time he had watched golf for such a long period. But Oosthuizen wants the peace that the course will bring.
American John Daly played on the European tour the week after winning the Open in 1995, but it is a rare move.
Oosthuizen headlines a Scandinavian Tournament field that includes Americans Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, a host of home hopes and the defending champion Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina.
