Oosthuizen happy to be back as he leads the way at Kingsbarns

Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has set his sights on lifting another trophy at St Andrews after claiming a share of the lead in the first round of the Dunhill Links Championship.

Oosthuizen won his first major title at the Home of Golf in 2010, but was prevented from returning to the scene of his greatest triumph a few months later after tearing the ligaments in his left ankle in a hunting accident.

That also meant his brother Rikus missed out on the chance to play in the pro-am event staged at Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and St Andrews, but Oosthuizen made amends yesterday with an opening 66, six under par, at Kingsbarns.

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“I couldn’t watch this event last year on TV, I was too upset I wasn’t there,” Oosthuizen said after finishing alongside Austria’s Markus Brier, Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey at the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s nice to come back and experience everything again. It was good fun playing a practice round at St Andrews yesterday with my brother. I showed him where a few of my shots ended up and things like that.

“I suffered the injury three weeks before the event last year and had no chance getting ready for it. It was a big shock for my brother because he was supposed to play, so I promised I would take him this year.

“There’s nothing better than holding the Claret Jug at St Andrews. Hopefully at the end of the week it’s just a different trophy.”

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Most of the best scores came at Kingsbarns, with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell shooting a 67 there to be one of six players a shot off the pace on five under.

McDowell enjoyed a brilliant season in 2010, winning the US Open at Pebble Beach and then securing the winning point in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, but has struggled to reproduce that form since.

And the 32-year-old revealed that he had turned to former coach Clive Tucker in an attempt to rediscover his best golf.

“At the US PGA Championship things came to a head,” McDowell said. “Myself and my caddie had to have a bit of a heart-to-heart as to what we were doing and what we needed to change.

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“It was a bit of soul-searching and Clive was the answer, a guy that understands my game very well and was probably a lot to answer for why I played well in 2010.

“I’m not breaking my ties with Pete (Cowen, of Rotherham), I still want him to coach me but I needed another opinion on things. I’ve got more clarity of thought with my game, which excites me. At one point in August I really wasn’t looking forward to a busy schedule at the end of the season.”

Simon Dyson was the best-placed Yorkshireman after a 69 at Kingsbarns, while there were Carnoustie 73s for Sheffield’s Danny Willett and Knaresborough’s John Parry. Hull’s Richard Finch had a 75 at St Andrews.

France’s Cassandra Kirkland leads the Lacoste Ladies Open de France after an opening 64.

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