Oosthuizen braces for tough golf event

World No.21 Louis Oosthuizen will start as one of the favourites for the Perth International at Lake Karrinyup, which tees off on Thursday.

2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen wants to make his first appearance in Australia a memorable one, but he knows he won't have it all his own way in this week's Perth International at Lake Karrinyup.

Oosthuizen starts the $US1.75 million ($A2.42 million) tournament as a warm favourite ahead of Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen.

But the world No.21 is well aware favouritism in golf often doesn't translate into title glory.

In 2012, US Masters champion and fellow South African Charl Schwartzel arrived at the Perth International as one of the favourites, only to miss the cut.

"Thanks for bringing that up," Oosthuizen joked on Wednesday.

"This game's really showed everyone that you can't expect to win it all.

"Anything can happen on the day,

"It's a nice feeling going into it as the favourite for the week, but you've got to play well.

"The favourite always wins in any other sport, but golf doesn't work that way."

Oosthuizen has never appeared in Australia before, but he was keen to come for the Perth International this year after competing in Malaysia last week.

The 33-year-old is coming off a banner 2015 season where he finished runner-up in both The Open Championship and US Open.

Oosthuizen is aiming to sharpen up his game ahead of the US Masters in April.

And he knows he has plenty of work to do after missing the cut at the recent Dubai Desert Classic.

"It's been a bit of a shaky start with the missed cut in Dubai," he said.

"The Masters is on everyone's mind now, so I've got a lot of work to get it right until then.

"It's a great feeling when your game is really good going into a major.

"Hopefully something can spark this week."

A top of 36 degrees is forecast for Perth on Friday, with Saturday expected to reach 39 degrees.

But it was much cooler when Oosthuizen stepped off the flight on Tuesday.

"I arrived yesterday morning with shorts and flip-flops and it was ten degrees outside," Oosthuizen said.

"That was really a bit different than what I expected."


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Source: AAP



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