Louis Oosthuizen OUT of Open Championship with injury
· The South African
Former champion Louis Oosthuizen has withdrawn from the 2026 Open Championship because of a back injury, handing fellow South African Aldrich Potgieter a late place in the field at Royal Birkdale.
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Oosthuizen, who lifted the Claret Jug at St Andrews in 2010, announced on social media on Monday that he would also miss next week’s LIV Golf event in the United Kingdom as he focuses on his recovery.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority now is to focus on my recovery and make sure I’m fully fit before returning to competition,” Louis Oosthuizen wrote.
Not the update I was hoping to share.
— Louis Oosthuizen (@Louis57TM) July 13, 2026
Unfortunately, due to a back injury, I've had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from both The Open Championship and LIV Golf's JCB event.
It's incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority… pic.twitter.com/Pbrv7IwyGr
The injury ends the 43-year-old’s hopes of competing for a second Open title at Royal Birkdale, where the world’s best golfers will battle for one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies.
Potgieter handed Open opportunity
Louis Oosthuizen’s withdrawal means rising South African star Aldrich Potgieter has secured a place in the championship field as the first alternate.
Potgieter had earlier competed in the Last-Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale on Monday morning, hoping to earn one of the remaining spots in the tournament.
Instead, Oosthuizen’s late withdrawal has opened the door for the powerful young South African to tee it up in the season’s final major.
The opportunity adds another significant milestone to Potgieter’s rapidly developing career as he prepares to test himself against golf’s biggest names on one of the game’s most demanding links courses.
While Oosthuizen begins his rehabilitation, South African hopes at Royal Birkdale will now rest in part on the shoulders of the next generation, with Potgieter receiving an unexpected chance to shine on one of golf’s grandest stages.
In addition to Potgieter, there are six other South Africans in the 156-player field.
They are MJ Daffue, Hennie du Plessis, Michael Hollick, Casey Jarvis, Shaun Norris and Jayden Schaper.
The tournament starts on Thursday, 16 July.