The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tees off Thursday and South African Louis Oosthuizen returns to Lake Karrinyup Country Club with fond memories.
Oosthuizen won the ISPS HANDA Perth International last year however with the new format and tournament in place this time around, he’ll be starting fresh like everyone else.
“I love the golf course, I’m curious to see the way it’s set up now,” Oosthuizen said.
“I know you’ve had a lot of rain here and you can see it’s a lot greener so it’s definitely going to play different, but I’m looking forward to it.
“A lot of good memories here last year and hopefully we can do something similar this year.”
While he could be considered favourite for the tournament, being the last player to win an international event on the course, Oosthuizen said he’d be wary of Alex Noren, the highest ranked player in the field.
However, given the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth’s match play format in the final round he said no player should be underestimated should they make the top-24.
“The golf that Alex played end of last year, you know, he’s obviously playing really good golf but it’s a different format with match play being the main thing I think,” added Oosthuizen.
“It’s wide open for anyone to win, match play is a tough game. If you don’t play well in those six holes and make one or two mistakes, you can be going home.
“Stroke play you’re always going to have a few holes that you can come back with, but you’re probably going to lose a hole if you make a bogey out there this week.
“And you only have six holes to play, so it’s going to be definitely a different match play event on Sunday, and I think it makes it wide open for anyone to win.”
The World Number 25 said his mental game will need to be sharp from round one in order to be in the finish on Sunday, reminding him of playing Tour School’s early in his career.
“I think it’s a mindset thing where you’ve got to realise the stroke play, that it’s just to qualify to get to Sunday,” Oosthuizen said.
“You can have a five‑shot lead and lose your first round in match play and off home you go. So it’s definitely the mindset I’ve got that it’s just to qualify to get to Sunday and then see what that presents.
“I think it’s a bit like when I played tour school, you know, you don’t have to go out and win the tour school. It is a better card, but if you finish top eight or top-10 it’s just as good a card and it’s just a way of getting through the year that year.
“But I think that’s sort of the mentality that I would go at and just see the stroke play as a qualifier.”
Oosthuizen expects the field to become a lot tighter with no clear leader heading in to the final round and wouldn’t be surprised to see some upsets during match play.
“I think it’s going to bring everyone more close, like I say, six‑hole match play is going to be tough.
“You’ve got to have the mindset of the last few holes in a tournament and otherwise you’re out of here.
“I think it’s going to put more pressure on the guys that have done really well in the stroke play and maybe was leading the stroke play or finished second or third day.
“So, again, you need to just focus on that being a qualifier for the next round.”
