Round 4 - Louis Oosthuizen claims narrow victory

February 28, 2016

Louis Oosthuizen made his first tournament appearance in Australia a winning one, shooting a 1-under 71 for a one-stroke victory at the Perth International on Sunday.

The former British Open champion, who led by three strokes going into the final round, finished with a 16-under total of 272 in the tournament sanctioned by the European and Australasian PGA tours.

Alexander Levy of France was second after a 66, followed by Australian golfer Jason Scrivener, whose 69 left him in third place, two strokes behind.

American Peter Uihlein (71) and France's Gregory Bourdy (66) were tied for fourth, three behind Oosthuizen.

''It's great to be back in the winning circle,'' said Oosthuizen, who three-putted the final hole for a bogey.

''I always say it's great to be nervous with three holes to go in a tournament because it means you're up there somewhere - you're a chance of winning it. That's what we do all the hard work for - to try to get into that position. This is a very special win for me.''

Round 3 - Louis Oosthuizen moves three shots clear

February 27, 2016

Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen shot a 5-under 67 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the Perth International.

Oosthuizen, making his first tournament appearance in Australia, had a 54-hole total of 15-under 201 on the Lake Karrinyup Cointry Club course.

American Peter Uihlein (71) and Romain Wattel of France (65) were tied for second, with Australia's Jason Scrivener another stroke back after a 69.

Oosthuizen, who had seven birdies, dropped two shots over his final three holes.

''I lost a bit of concentration on 16, worrying too much on the way about where the pin position was,'' he said. ''It was right on a slope. Those things happen. As long as they don't happen when you are tied for the lead with three shots to go.''

Overnight leader Uihlein bogeyed the 18th hole and took six shots on the 135-meter, par-3 12th when he hit his tee shot to the back of the green and struggled to recover before taking two putts to finish.

Australian Brett Rumford was five strokes behind after a 73, while Marcus Fraser, who won last week's European tour event in Malaysia, shot 65 to move up the leaderboard, six behind Oosthuizen.

Fraser was tied with Mikko Korhonen of Finland (66), Canada's Richard Lee (68), Mardan Mamat of Singapore (69) and Alexander Levy of France (70).

Round 2 - Peter Uihlein & Brett Rumford share lead

February 26, 2016

Overnight leader Peter Uihlein of the United States shot a 4-under 68 and was tied for the second-round lead with Brett Rumford at the Perth International, with former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen a stroke behind on Friday.

Uihlein, who birdied his final two holes after starting on the back nine, and Rumford, who carded 65, had 36-hole totals of 11-under 133 at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion playing for the first time in Australia, had a 64 for the low round of the day after an opening 70.

Oosthuizen was on track to join Rumford and Uihlein at the top of the leaderboard, but missed a short birdie putt on the final hole.

''I just over-read it,'' Oosthuizen said. ''It was the first real putt I had in the shadows today. I took my glasses off, and I misread it a little bit. It's not going to bother me though.''

European Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson of France posted a 1-under 71 but was still 4 over overall and missed the cut in the European Tour and Australasian PGA event.

Australian Marcus Fraser, who won the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last week, was at 2 under with veteran Peter Senior.

Other notables beside Dubuisson to miss the cut included defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen (5 over) and 2013 winner Jin Jeong (4 over).

Dubuisson has missed consecutive cuts since making a recent switch in equipment.

Uihlein was grouped with Dubuisson for the opening two days, but he said the Frenchman kept his emotions in check.

''You can never tell with Victor. He's like the Mona Lisa, you never really know what's going on,'' Uihlein said, smiling. ''He's a great player. He could win Doral next week by 10, he's that good.''

Temperatures exceeded 36 degrees Celsius (97 F), and Rumford made sure to keep his fluids up after stomach surgery last year which kept him off the tour for four months.

''This is the hottest conditions no doubt I've played in ...'' Rumford said. ''But the body's great. There's no signs whatsoever. That's all history now.''

Round 1 - Peter Uihlein leads with opening 65

February 25, 2016

American Peter Uihlein shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Perth International.

India's Shiv Kapur, recovering from a shoulder injury, and Romain Wattel of France shot 66s, both in morning groups when the conditions were more conducive to low scoring.

Australian Rhein Gibson was in fourth place after a 67, while Australian Brett Rumford and Northern Ireland's Cormac Sharvin were among those three strokes behind after 68s on the Lake Karrinyup Country Club course.

Uihlein was among the few afternoon starters to move up the leaderboard in tough, blustery conditions. He bogeyed his first hole, the par-4 first.

''When the wind is blowing the way it was, you've got to expect to hit a few bad shots,'' Uihlein said. ''Just accept it and move on.''

Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion playing for the first time in Australia, shot 70. Defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark had a 71.

Oosthuizen started strongly with three birdies in his first six holes, but bogeyed his 11th hole to fade from the leading groups in the European and Australasian PGA tour event.

''I hit it really well all day, but just found myself on the front nine in awkward spots on the greens,'' Oosthuizen said. ''I just need to think a bit better around it. I left myself with a few shockers to try and make birdies. I found the places on the green you're not supposed to be.''

Kapur almost didn't play Thursday because of his lingering shoulder injury. He injured his right shoulder while lifting his golf bag at Singapore airport two weeks ago, but some treatment just before his opening round eased the pain enough for him to play.

''I was really struggling on the driving range this morning with my shoulder,'' Kapur said. ''The first few shots that I hit I couldn't really hold the club at the top of my backswing. The chiropractor here did a great job to get me fit to play, and I popped a couple of pills. Sometimes when you drop expectations and you don't think about your golf swing, it seems to work pretty well.''

Australian Marcus Fraser, who won last week's European Tour event in Malaysia, shot 69. European Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson of France birdied his final hole on an otherwise forgettable day in which he shot 77.

Scores