Getty Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa acknowledges patrons on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia.
Louis Oosthuizen comes from a long line of excellent South African golfers. There’s Ernie Els, who according to Oosthuizen’s personal page, “supported Louis’ early career through the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation.” There’s Retief Goosen, the 2-time U.S. Open champion, who hails from Pietersburg.
Oosthuizen (pronounced “west-hayzen”) is holding the flag for his native land today. Entering the third round at the 2019 Masters, the 36-year old is in a 5-way tie for first place at 7-under par. Only one stroke behind him is fellow countryman Justin Harding.
Before seeing if Louis can win his second major championship of his career, let’s take a look at where he came from.
Louis Oosthuizen Nationality, Ethnicity & Background
Haha. Louis Oosthuizen talks to his ball in English, but mutters to his caddy in Afrikaans.
He was born Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen in Mossel Bay, South Africa in October of 1982. According to his personal bio, he was actually born in a little town outside Mossel Bay called Albertinia.
He says that he comes from “humble beginnings” and the harbor city of Mossel Bay would suggest that. It’s a diverse community (40% black, 40% multiracial and around 17% white) that specializes in fishing, farming and natural gas/oil collection.
Farming is how Louis’ father Piet made a living. In Albertinia, he owned a dairy farm of about 110 cows. “Louis was not very keen for milking, but he did like driving the tractors,” Piet said to Golf.com.
Oosthuizen is of Dutch ancestry and speaks the Afrikaans language. In a Golf.com recap of his 2010 British Open win, he is described as speaking the language with his caddie.
Oosthuizen, 27, has a stylish, powerful swing, a pretty wife, a baby girl and a caddie fluent in three languages. Oosthuizen and his caddie, Zack Rasego, discussed club selection in Afrikaans, the South African language with Dutch lineage.
Later in the profile, Oosthuizen is quoted as thanking Nelson Mandela in his acceptance speech. Rasego is black, so he described the moment by saying “his spine was running.”
When the final putt was holed, Rasego, who counseled Oosthuizen on most of the 272 shots he played, reached out to give his boss an old-school handshake. Shrek (the golfer’s nickname, courtesy of the gap between his front teeth) turned it into a hug. The caddie, who has known poverty and apartheid, wasn’t fully ready for it.
Oosthuizen, outside of the British Open breakthrough, is one of the few golfers to finish as a runner-up at each major: the 2012 Masters Tournament losing in a sudden-death playoff, the 2015 U.S. Open, the 2015 Open Championship where he was defeated in a four-hole aggregate playoff, and the 2017 PGA Championship.
He is the 7th golfer to accomplish this feat, joining Craig Wood, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, and Phil Mickelson.
He tees off at 2:25 p.m. EST on CBS, searching for his first green jacket at Augusta National.