Louis Oosthuizen has a big game, but he’s still hunting

He’s not Little Louie anymore. Nor “Louie who?�

But Louis Oosthuizen still answers to Shrek. He knows that as long as he has that gap in his front teeth, the nickname will stick. Nor has he ever been offended by that.

Shrek is a star now, the 2010 British Open champion, winner of that grand event at no less than the symbolic cradle of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

He also has a new head cover for his driver — the animated ogre has been replaced, as has his own image. But the 28-year-old from South Africa may be the last to totally understand that.

“It [the Shrek head cover] was tearing apart,� he says, implying that it had a home in his bag as long as it endured. “I’ve got a big South African rugby cover now. I’m quite a big fan of them.�

Seven months ago, Oosthuizen was just another pro golfer, teeing off in early morning mist for a gallery of dozens. If there were more than that, it was because he was playing in a group with somebody golf fans had heard of. He was ranked No. 54 in the world, played almost exclusively in Europe, and could have been ranked No. 920 for all the Tiger-centric golf world cared.

Seven months later, he will be walking the fairways at Riviera Country Club in the Northern Trust Open, and his British Open title will make him an attraction for fans, not an afterthought.

He is as happy to be here as Los Angeles golf fans should be to have him.

“I’ve never been here,� he says. “I’m looking for the Hollywood sign. Once I see that, I’ll know I’m in L.A.�

His British title was magical. While the rest of the field struggled every day in the quirky weather of seaside eastern Scotland, Oosthuizen went about his business with the emotion of a rural mailman. He walked nonplussed between shots and appeared oblivious to the pressure of the moment and the life-changing stakes at hand.

The weather changed every 20 minutes. Oosthuizen never did.

He started the final day — Open Sunday at St. Andrews, perhaps golf’s most sacred day — four shots in front of the field. His closest pursuer, Paul Casey, cut that to three after the eighth hole, so Oosthuizen, 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds, merely drove the 352-yard, par-four ninth hole and made a long putt for eagle.

He ended up winning by seven shots, over soon-to-become No.1 in the world Lee Westwood. Then he handled the post-tournament ceremonies with the charm and composure of a 20-time winner and sent champagne to the media center.

The swing that was supposed to break down under pressure never did. The personality that so understandably could have stumbled and stuttered under the bright lights never did.

He had come from so far out of nowhere, playing in eight previous majors and making the cut only in the 2008 PGA, that his good golf and good nature was a bolt out of the blue.

He lives on a farm in Pinnacle Point, South Africa, got a great deal of financial help at the start of his career from the Ernie Els Foundation, and says that he has been helped by having “great people around me.�

“I’m just trying to keep my feet on the ground,� he says.

The only blip on the Oosthuizen radar screen since St. Andrews occurred when he failed to do exactly that.

In mid-September, back home in South Africa, avid hunter Oosthuizen was out with friends in pursuit of Kudu.

“It’s a big buck,� he says.

Oosthuizen wounded one and was running in pursuit when he stepped wrong and tore ligaments in his left ankle.

“It wasn’t the cleverest thing,� he says, “but if I have to do it again, I’d probably do the same thing, because I love hunting.�

Few millionaire golfers would have been hunting big game in the wild. Millionaire golfers, knowing the career stakes, would have seen a doctor immediately. Oosthuizen wrapped the ankle tightly and kept hunting for two more days.

“It was on the back of a pickup truck,� he told Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press. “So I didn’t walk or run or anything.�

Eventually, doctors put him on the shelf for a couple of months, and he has only recently returned to form.

On Jan. 9, he won a three-way playoff to take the title in the African Open. He says his swing is pretty much back to where he wants it, and says the exemptions he gets from the British Open title have given him a chance to fulfill a dream of playing in America.

He still carries himself the same way he did down that final 18th fairway at St. Andrews, seemingly unaffected and unchanged by the incredible events of 2010. He still consistently rebukes attempts to get him to say the Shrek nickname is offensive or getting tiresome.

“It’s a lot easier saying Shrek than Oosthuizen,� he says.

He will tee off Thursday morning at 7:21. His threesome will include Zach Johnson and Geoff Oglivy, also major champions. Oglivy is No. 30 in the world, Johnson No. 31. Oosthuizen is No. 20.

No matter what you call him, Little Louie is big now.

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