Ping golf's Louis Oosthuizen, the surprise Open champion 18 months ago, to slip under the radar, but one can no longer ignore the fact that at his last six tournaments, he has finished in the top 10 in each of them — with a cumulative score of 93 under par.
In defending his title in East London, two shots clear of fellow South African Tjaart van der Walt at a remarkable 27 under, Oosthuizen continued the form he had shown at the close of last season, when he came sixth at the Dubai World Championship.
As the 2012 Race to Dubai began under bright blue skies in the Eastern Cape, the 29 year-old sealed his fourth European Tour title and reminded us that his seven-shot victory at St Andrews in 2010 had been no fluke.
While the critics were tempted to bracket Oosthuizen with Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton as one of the relative obscurities to have lifted the Claret Jug, this affable soul from Mossel Bay has maintained a terrific standard.
His two African Open titles constitute his only wins since that famous Open Championship victory, but all that has been missing from Oosthuizen’s game is a greater ferocity in the final reckoning. Yesterday he found it, holding off the determinded challenge of Van der Walt for a closing 67 to claim the prize.