Golf notebook: Oosthuizen out two-plus months

Golf notebook: Oosthuizen out two-plus months
Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange August 5, 2013The SportsXchange








--Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, who captured the 2010Open Championship at St. Andrews but has been hampered by injuries since, will miss at least two months because of lingering neck, back and hip ailments.



"It's obviously very disappointing to miss out on playing in such prestigious tournaments," Oosthuizen said in a statement released through by his management company, ISM. "But these are injuries that I have been managing for most of the season. It is important that I now give myself the proper time to recover."



He ranks 26th in the European Tour's Race to Dubai, and he hopes to return at the Dunhill LinksChampionship at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns late in late September.



--Tom Watson, the United States Ryder Cup captain for the matches next year at Gleneagles Resort in Scotland, was so disappointed in his play in his two most recent majors that he indicated that the end of his competitive career might be near.



"I don't know how many more years I'm going to play as far as my career is concerned," Watson told the Daily Record in Scotland. "I'm starting to see the end of it.



"I still have the ability to compete, but I have to be playing on a links course like the Open that takes the driver out of the kids' hands. Augusta is different. I can't hit it far enough off the tee to allow me to compete, so my years are numbered there."



However, his Open Championship exemption runs out next year at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.



--Y.E. Yang of South Korea has been selected captain of the Asian team for the Royal Trophy matches against a European team that will be captained by Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain.



"I am truly honored to undertake the leadership role of Asian team captain for the next edition of the Royal Trophy," said Yang, who became the first Asian male to capture a major title when he took down Tiger Woodsin the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.



Yang replaces Joe Ozaki of Japan, who led Asia in five of the six previous editions of the eight-man event.




Olazabal will lead the European team for the second consecutive year and the third time overall.



Founded in 1860, the Olympic Club is the oldest athletic club in the United States, and the four-ball competition will be the 10th USGA championship Olympic has hosted, including the U.S. Open won by Webb Simpson last year.



"When we set forth to identify those sites for these new USGA national championships, it was our goal primarily to create a wow factor when announcing these sites and conducting these inaugural championships," said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director.



The introduction of the four-ball championships, while widely applauded, also created something of a controversy because it means the demise of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, which dates to 1922, and the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.



"All of a sudden, in this kind of format, you're going to have guys who before didn't want to put their reputation on the line or whatever, they're going to be able to sort of hide with their partner psychologically and maybe play some great golf."



--The 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open will be contested at Turnberry Resort on the Firth of Clyde in South Ayrshire, Scotland, only the second time the event has been held on the famed Ailsa Course, tournament officials announced at St. Andrews.



"I am really pleased to hear that the Ricoh Women's British Open will be returning to Turnberry," said the 38-year-old Webb, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame who has claimed seven major victories among her 54 professional titles.



Turnberry has been home to the Open Championship four times, including 1977, when Tom Watson won the famed "Duel in the Sun" over Jack Nicklaus.



Stacy Lewis won the Ricoh Women's British Open last week on the Old Course at St Andrews, and the tournament will be played at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, next year.



The club, located 40 miles west of Seoul in the country's largest economic development zone, celebrated its opening in September 2010 with the Songdo Championship, an official event on the Champions Tour.



"We have always felt strongly about JNGC Korea as a host venue because of its location in the Songdo International Business District, its proximity to the Incheon International Airport, the quality hotels nearby, and the club's proximity to a large population area," said Nicklaus, who was captain of the United States team four times in the Presidents Cup.