Oosthuizen eyes top spot

Last updated: 22nd January 2013

Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen wants to become the world's top-ranked player as he prepares for this week's Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

The South African is currently fifth on the official rankings after an excellent start to the 2013 season, which included a win at the Volvo Golf Champions a fortnight ago.

Oosthuizen is well aware of the sizable gap between himself and would number on Rory McIlroy on the rankings table, but knows that he can continue to make up ground on the Ulsterman if he continues to play like he has done recently.

"I want to climb up the World Ranking to number one if I can, but I always take it slowly and see how my game is," said Oosthuizen.

"I never try to set goals that I know are too tough to achieve or out of my reach. I feel like I've got a good shot at getting to Number Two at least by the end of the year. I'll need to work hard on my game to get there and stay there, and then reduce the gap with me and Rory.

"Any win early in the season gets your confidence really high. I feel like I'm swinging it really well at the moment and making the odd long putt. This week the greens are really big and I think we'll have a lot of birdie opportunities, so the longer putts will be crucial."

The South African has a good record in Qatar, having finished runner-up in 2009 behind Alvaro Quiros. He has also played well in neighbouring Dubai, where he finished fifth at the DP World Tour Championship.

"I always love coming to the Middle East," he added.

"I tend to play well here and I love the golf courses, so it's always nice having a few events in this part of the world.

"I played nine holes earlier and the golf course looks really good. I'm looking forward to the week and hopefully I can keep the form going.

"I didn't do much over Christmas. I only played one or two rounds spent time with family and friends back home, but it means when the season starts I'm properly fresh. I always want to start with a good tournament, and the last three years I've managed to win the first one, so hopefully it will continue."

Oosthuizen forms part of a strong field competing at the Doha Golf Club, which also includes world number four Justin Rose.

"Justin is a great player," the 30-year-old added.

"The Ryder Cup and the win against (Phil) Mickelson (in the singles) was very special. You know he's going to be up there on leaderboards."