Masters 2022
Masters 2022: Louis Oosthuizen withdraws ahead of Friday's second round
Louis Oosthuizen walks off the first tee with Tiger Woods during the first round of the 2022 Masters.
Keyur Khamar
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods will be down a playing partner during Friday’s second round of the 86th Masters. Ahead of the 1:41 p.m. tee time, Louis Oosthuizen withdrew from the tournament, leaving Woods and Joaquin Niemann to play as a twosome during the afternoon wave.
Tournament officials did not offer a reason for Oosthuizen’s WD. The South African, playing in his 14th Masters, struggled during his opening round on Thursday, shooting a four-over 76 that included playing the back nine in three over. After hitting his second shot on the par-5 second hole on Thursday, Oosthuizen reached for his lower back with his left hand and TV commentators noted there might have been something amiss.
Oosthuizen’s was the worst of the three scores in his threesome, with Woods shooting a one-under 71 in his first competitive round since the 2020 Masters and Niemann shooting a three-under 69.
Weather forecasts on Friday call gusty conditions that is already proving a challenge for competitors on Day 2. How Woods and Niemann will handle the conditions, while also playing as just a twosome is unclear. Coincidentally, the pairing ahead of Woods and Niemann is also a twosome—Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith—after Paul Casey withdrew ahead of the first round.
Oosthuizen’s best Masters finish was a playoff loss to Bubba Watson in 2012.
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