After winning his first Major golf tournament at St. Andrews on Sunday, Mosselbaai-native Louis Oosthuizen must have been hounded by the media non-stop.

Here in Hong Kong he made the sports section of the free daily newspaper The Standard on Tuesday (July 20,2010).

I’m not sure where the headline “Ooh-la-la he’s cool” fits in but after the successes of the 2010 World Cup, Louis did his bit to keep South Africa’s name in the hearts and minds of the world.

Cheers Louis.

(click on the newspaper page above for larger view)

Much like the late-night shenanigans of the recently completed World Cup, this was one to stay up for.

I caught the final flurry of The Open at St Andrews where Louis Oosthuizen captured his first Major in fine, fine style, concluding at the 18th hole at about 01h30 Hong Kong time.

Mosselbaai native Louis Oosthuizen (or “Lewis Oorsten-howzen” as per the ESPN commentary team) just clinched his first-ever golf Major by winning The Open at the home of golf, St Andrews.

Oosthuizen won his first major title by seven strokes over runner-up Lee Westwood of England on the famed Old Course.

He also became the first player since American Tony Lema in 1964 to win his first major title at the birthplace of golf, firing a final-round one-under par 71 to finish 72 holes on 16-under par 272.

England’s Lee Westwood finished second on nine-under, his fourth top-three finish in the past five majors.  Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and England’s Paul Casey shared third on eight-under.

This historic win was made special when Oosthuizen, before saying anything else during his acceptance speech, wished former South African president Nelson Mandela a very happy 92nd birthday.

All hail our newest Champion:

Lodewikus Theodorus Oosthuizen.

The Champion at St Andrews… Louis Oosthuizen

This is mine! The Open 2010 Champions Louis Oosthuizen

Louis Oosthuizen embraces his caddy after clinching The Open title.

As my son Ethan will say: “Group Hug!”