Oosthuizen keeps Casey at bay at British Open

ST ANDREWS, Scotland — 

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen maintained his grip on the British Open on Sunday and with a stunning 40-foot eagle putt at the ninth kept closest challenger Paul Casey four shots at bay.

A win so unpredictable at the start of the week -- he had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens -- was starting to look like something of a stroll as the 27-year-old Oosthuizen compiled seven steady pars before he showed his first signs of frailty with a bogey at the eighth.

The leading two then drove the par-four ninth, leaving long putts for eagle. Casey left his a testing 10 feet short but Oosthuizen rattled his in to momentarily hold a five-shot advantage before the Englishman coolly sank his to narrow the deficit again.

With the strong winds that buffeted St Andrews earlier this week absent, the scoring was set to be low but the huge yellow scoreboards towering over the first and 18th fairways were surprisingly short of red figures.

In fact not one player in the leading seven groups carded a birdie in the first four holes as the Old Course links were strangely absent of the distant roars that so often accompany the final day of the year’s third major.

The scene was set for a titanic battle between the final pairing when Casey missed a five-foot putt at the first for birdie that would have put Oosthuizen under early pressure, and when the Englishman bogeyed the second the South African’s lead was back to five.

Casey cut the deficit to four with a birdie at the sixth but as the birdie chances went begging and no-one from the chasing pack threatened to take the Old Course apart the title looked like Oosthuizen’s with every passing hole.

The South African, whose win could provide Nelson Mandela with an unexpected 92nd birthday surprise, even escaped with a par at the fifth after his second found the deep gorse and his recovery scooped up an enormous tuft of undergrowth on his follow-through.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer, England’s Lee Westwood and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson were on eight under and running out of holes to reel in the two leaders.

Tiger Woods, with the putter he ditched at the start of the week returned to his bag, could not add to his three Claret Jugs after an outward 37 scarred by two double bogeys saw him sink down the field at two under through 16 holes.

He missed a birdie putt at the 17th ‘Road’ hole and picked a shot back up at the 72nd to finish on three-under.

Defending champion Stewart Cink signed off with a two-over 74, one over for the tournament, but the American had clearly had a blast in possession of the Claret Jug this last year.

“This is the best place to walk up in golf. I feel bittersweet but still it was enjoyable walking up the 18th,” said Cink.

American Rickie Fowler, dressed head to toe in a startling all-orange outfit, prompted one of the few huge roars of the day when he drained a monster 120-foot putt from the front of the ‘Road’ hole’s 17th green for birdie.

South Korea’s Jin Jeong, 20, will be assured of the Silver Medal for leading amateur as long as he completes his round after being the only one to survive the halfway cut and he was three under with two to play.