An Interesting Winner / A Dull British Open

We certainly cannot blame Louis Oosthuizen for an undeniably dull British Open. The winning margin allowed for as little intrigue as Woods' 2000 US Open win at Pebble Beach. We might have something to say about the dreary play of Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson but that's fodder for another cannon.

The good news is that Oosthuizen may actually be the kind of man Tiger was merely impersonating. He was humble in victory a trait the legendary golf teacher, Harvey Penick, would have appreciated. He was grateful but not pandering, moved but not awed. The R&A would be hard pressed to find a better winner of the silver medal.

But, beyond Oosthuizen's fine manner is the very interesting story of his caddy, Zack Rasego. The two spent the day talking to each other in Afrikaans but when Rasego called his wife back home after the win he used Rasego, a language used by millions of his black countrymen. I very much doubt that Oosthuizen has ever felt the need to learn his caddy's language, though I could be wrong. The Oosthuizen/Rasego partnership of the last seven years says a great deal about how far South Africa has come since the days of apartheid.

Still, it is sobering to note that of the legions of fine players who have come out of South Africa since Gary Player only black player, James Kamte, has ever attained exempt status on a major tour which Kamte did in 2007 on the European Tour. Surely, others will follow and Oosthuizen & Rasego have made the path just that much smoother.