Louis Oosthuizen is on the verge of making up for his Masters anguish at the first time of asking as he continues to lead through three days of the Malaysian Open.
The 29 year old South African only just missed out on winning his second Major title last week at Augusta National, but eventually lost a playoff to Bubba Watson.
He finished the third round on 13 under par at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club after ten holes of his third round, with storm delays causing disruption for the third day in a row.
“I got off to a pretty slow start to the third round – I hit three good putts on the first three holes but didn’t birdie one of them,” he said. “I am probably going for a few more shots than usual in the third round because I am kind of playing it like it might be the last round.
“You never know with the weather here so you are trying to get ahead of the guys just in case all of a sudden it becomes a 54-hole event. I actually don’t think that will be the case now, but at that point on the sixth I was still thinking there was a chance that this could be the last round.
“I feel good now. I made good putts on nine and ten for birdie and I have another birdie putt to come back to in the morning so it feels really good. I am playing well and just have to keep giving myself chances.
“I think everyone knew that this week was going to be one of those one where we are off and on the golf course and to be honest I am screwed with the jet-lag anyway so it doesn’t matter either way to me if I have to get up at six in the morning or ten.”
Oosthuizen has been in excellent form recently with a third place in the Houston Open two weeks ago as well, and has resisted both mental and physical fatigue after a 30-hour trip from the Masters to Malaysia to maintain that form.
“The jet-lag has been pretty rough, especially having the kids with us because they are sleeping all day and then coming alive at night. Thankfully my wife has been able to sit up with them at night in the room next door while I try and sleep but I haven’t had more than four hours straight at any one time.
“It’s a tough week but it was always going to be the case this week. None of that will matter if I can win tomorrow. My swing feels really good and when you are playing like this you really want to get a win because it just boosts the confidence so much and it is a good time of the year to do that.”
Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher is in second 12 under par with seven holes of his third hole remaining, with Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Danny Willett and David Lipsky sharing third on ten under par.