* South African wins fifth European Tour title
* Scotland’s Gallacher finishes second
(Adds quotes, details)
April 15 (Reuters) – Louis Oosthuizen drove away mental and
physical fatigue to bounce back from last week’s U.S. Masters
heartbreak and romp to a three-stroke win in the rain-hit
Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
The South African, who finished runner-up in the Masters to
American Bubba Watson in a playoff, registered a total of
17-under 271, three ahead of Britain’s Stephen Gallacher.
The 2010 British Open champion, who made a 30-hour journey
from Augusta National to take part in the $2.5 million event in
the Malaysian capital, fired a four-under 68 in the final round
to win his fifth European Tour title.
“It would have been better if I had the green jacket,” said
Oosthuizen, whose daughter rushed out to congratulate him after
the win, with a laugh.
“I thought I was going to be a lot more tired. It was a long
journey to get here and I have to be honest and say that I
didn’t expect to play this well because of the tiredness.”
Having the family around in the Malaysian capital meant he
got little sleep and struggled to get over the jetlag, but on
Sunday he was not complaining.
“The one thing I did know was that the game was there so
that helped a lot,” he said.
Continued…
