Louis Oosthuizen relishing his St Andrews return

Published on Tuesday 31 August 2010 15:33

LOUIS Oosthuizen, the Open champion, will be joined by two fellow 2010 major winners, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer, when he returns to St Andrews next month to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

• Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen admitted his previous appearances in the late-season European Tour event had helped him claim the Claret Jug on the Old Course in July and the South African is looking forward to being back in Fife.

"It will be wonderful to return to St Andrews so soon after The Open," said the 27-year-old. "It is a very special place and walking up the last hole in July was an unforgettable experience. I have loved playing in the Dunhill over the years and it would be great if I could make it a St Andrews double by winning again in October."

McDowell, the US Open champion, came close in the event in 2004, when he lost to Scotland's Stephen Gallacher in a play-off. "I love playing links courses so this championship is one of my favourites," said the 31-year-old Ulsterman. "The US Open win at Pebble Beach has made this a memorable year, and victory on the Old Course in the Alfred Dunhill Links would make it even more special."

Like McDowell, Kaymer, the recently-crowned USPGA champion, is heading for St Andrews, as well as Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, straight from the Ryder Cup in Wales and will be aiming to record a second success in the home of golf following his win in the Barclays Scottish Open last summer. This will be the tenth Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in its current pro-am format, though the Dunhill Cup, which was an international team championship, took place previously from 1985 to 2000.

On the domestic front, Nairn Dunbar's Kelsey MacDonald has emulated Michael Stewart's feat in the men's game by winning the Scottish Championship and the SLGA Order of Merit in the same season. With just the county and divisional championship results still to count, MacDonald is out of reach at the top of the table with 2,900 points, 620 ahead of last year's winner, Louise Kenney of Pitreavie. The biggest mover in the latest standings is Curtis Cup player Pamela Pretswell, the Bothwell Castle 21-year-old jumping from tenth to sixth with 1,586 points following her victory in last month's British Women's Strokeplay Championship at Tenby.

MacDonald won the Scottish Championship at Craigielaw in May and followed up that success by reaching the final of the British Championship in June. In August, she won her third successive Scottish Under-21 Open Strokeplay Championship and just last week she added the Total International Junior Championship in Belgium to her haul. Reflecting her consistency, Alford's Laura Murray is in third place with 1,955 points followed by Craigielaw's Jane Turner (1,875) and Mortonhall teenager Rachael Watton (1,636).