* Storming back nine puts Oosthuizen two ahead
* Defending champion Mickelson trails by six
(Adds quotes, details)
March 31 (Reuters) – Former British Open champion Louis
Oosthuizen birdied five of the last seven holes to charge two
shots clear in the third round of the weather-delayed Houston
Open in Humble, Texas on Saturday.
The smooth-swinging South African recovered from bogeys on
the first two holes to card a six-under-par 66 at the
rain-softened Redstone Golf Club in the final PGA Tour event
before next week’s Masters.
Oosthuizen, who romped to a seven-stroke victory at the 2010
British Open, launched his late surge with four consecutive
birdies from the 12th to post a 17-under total of 199.
American Hunter Mahan was alone in second place after
carding a 65, with Swede Carl Pettersson (67) and Britain’s
Brian Davis (69) a further stroke back at 14 under.
For the second round in a row at Redstone, players were
permitted to lift, clean and replace their balls on a course
that had been saturated by more than an inch of rain on
Thursday.
“I had to compose myself,” Oosthuizen told reporters,
referring to his bogey-bogey start. “Other than that, I hit it
well and started making a few putts on the back nine.
“I was driving it well, my iron play the whole week has been
really good and I just made some good putts today.
Continued…
