Born in the small country village of Albertinia on 19 October 1982, Lodewicus Theodorus “Louis” Oosthuizen came from humble beginnings.From the day Louis was born, his parents instilled in him a Christian worldview, and it is his faith that has carried him through life ever since.Louis grew up on a farm in a tennis-playing family, his father and brother both having achieved at provincial level, but it was golf that ultimately won his heart. At the age of nine, Louis decided golf was his future, often spending his time at Mossel Bay Golf Club.
Excelling as an amateur player on provincial and national levels, Louis caught the eye of Ernie Els, who, from 2000-2002, supported Louis’ early career through the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. It was during his amateur career, on 12 December 2002, that Louis shot a round of 57 (15 under par) on the Mossel Bay Golf Club course. This would be a pivotal moment for the rest of his career. Between 2000 and 2002, Louis won several amateur titles, including The World Junior Championship in Jamaica.
After such a successful amateur career, in 2002, Louis turned professional at the age of nineteen. His first professional achievement was in 2004, when he won the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella. In that year, he also became a member of the European Tour.
2007 was a particularly good year on the Southern Africa PGA tour, with Louis winning the Dimension Data Pro-Am, the Telkom PGA Championship (which he also won the following year, in 2008), and the Platinum Tournament.
Following seven successful years on the professional circuit, in 2009, Louis started the Louis 57 brand in South Africa. The name is in honour of his achievement seven years before on the Mossel Bay Golf course. Louis, inspired by the help he received from the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation, and his subsequent success in major championships worldwide, decided to create his own brand, which would include sponsorship, and charitable and entrepreneurial ventures.
2010 was the defining year for Louis. In March, he won his first European Tour event, the Open de Andalucia de Golf. His greatest achievement to date, though, was in July, winning The Open Championship at St Andrews by seven strokes.
In 2011, Louis brought his success home to the continent of his birth, winning the Africa Open.
2012 was a busy year in which Louis once again secured the Africa Open title, and won the Maybank Malaysian Open. He also made history by scoring the first Double Eagle on the second hole at Augusta, the first in the history of the Masters championship. As a culmination of his success in 2012, Louis made it – for the first time in his career – into the Official World Ranking Top 10.
Louis brought in 2013 with a win by one stroke at the Volvo Golf Championship, and he successfully defended his title at the Volvo Golf Championship in 2014, repeating history and again winning by one stroke.
During 2015, Louis steadily climbed up the world rankings. With eight top 10 finishes, two of them runner-up finishes in the Majors (US Open and British Open), he is now 18th in the world golf rankings (January 2016).
Louis won for the fourth time on the European Tour when he successfully defended his Africa Open title in 2012. He added the Maybank Malaysian Open to his CV in April of that year.