Louis Oosthuizen is a professional golfer from South Africa who is best known for winning the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Oosthuizen has become one of South Africa’s most accomplished golfers, competing at the highest levels of the sport and finishing runner-up in all four major championships.
Golf has also provided Oosthuizen with a comfortable lifestyle and the opportunity to enjoy another lifelong passion: vehicles and machinery. But unlike many professional athletes who focus entirely on exotic cars, Oosthuizen’s interests are a little different.
Having grown up on a farm in South Africa, Louis has always had a fascination with tractors, excavators, and agricultural equipment. So alongside the Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and McLaren vehicles associated with him over the years, his collection has also included some serious farm machinery.
We know that Oosthuizen has been associated with Mercedes-Benz and other luxury vehicles. He has also been photographed with BMWs and a McLaren in Palm Beach, Florida. But out of all the celebrity car collections we have covered, few have given us the opportunity to include tractors and excavators.
Louis Oosthuizen’s reported road-vehicle collection includes Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a BMW sports car, and a McLaren sports car. His broader collection of machinery has included tractors and an excavator.
Throughout his professional golf career, Oosthuizen has earned tens of millions of dollars in tournament prize money. His official PGA TOUR earnings alone exceed $28 million, and that figure does not include his earnings from international tournaments, the DP World Tour, LIV Golf, endorsements, and other events.
Below are some of the more interesting vehicles and machines associated with Louis Oosthuizen over the years.
Louis Oosthuizen’s collection has included serious agricultural equipment, including an excavator he received through a golf event.
Oosthuizen’s interest in agricultural machinery is not just a hobby. After growing up on a farm, tractors remained part of his life even after he became one of the world’s top golfers.
After winning the 2010 Open Championship, Oosthuizen reportedly spent part of his prize money on a new tractor for his farm in South Africa.
The story became even more unusual at a later pro-am event. Oosthuizen and his team won an event in which the first prize was originally a car. Oosthuizen reportedly spoke with the organizers and arranged to exchange the car for an excavator that had been offered as a hole-in-one prize.
For most professional golfers, a luxury sports car might have been the obvious choice. For Oosthuizen, an excavator apparently made more sense.
Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been among the luxury automobiles associated with Louis Oosthuizen during his professional golf career.
Louis Oosthuizen was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa, and grew up on a dairy farm.
His father operated a farm with roughly 110 cows, and while Louis was not particularly enthusiastic about milking them, he developed an early interest in tractors and farm equipment.
That background helps explain why agricultural machinery has remained part of his life long after golf made him wealthy.
Oosthuizen began developing his golf game at a young age and received assistance through the Ernie Els Foundation. He turned professional in 2002, shortly before his 20th birthday.
Louis Oosthuizen with a McLaren sports car in Palm Beach, Florida.
Oosthuizen has maintained a home base in the Palm Beach area during portions of his career in the United States, making South Florida an important part of his professional life.
He has also been photographed around high-end vehicles in the area, including a McLaren. As with many celebrity vehicle sightings, a photograph alone does not necessarily prove long-term ownership, so it is safer to describe the McLaren as a vehicle associated with him.
In 2009, Oosthuizen established the 57 brand in South Africa. The name references a remarkable round of 57 that he shot at his home course in Mossel Bay before turning professional.
The organization has been connected with sponsorships, charitable efforts, business ventures, and the development of young South African golfers.
Louis Oosthuizen has been associated with Mercedes-Benz vehicles through golf sponsorship and promotional appearances.
Oosthuizen married his wife, Nel-Mare, in 2007 in Mossel Bay. Like Louis, she grew up around farming, and the couple has three daughters.
Their family and farming background has remained an important part of Oosthuizen’s life even as his golf career has taken him around the world.
Louis Oosthuizen also added a John Deere tractor to his collection of farm equipment. After winning the 2010 Open Championship, he reportedly used part of his prize money to purchase a tractor for his farm in South Africa.
That purchase probably says more about Oosthuizen than any supercar could. Despite becoming an international golf star, he has never completely left his farming roots behind.
Louis Oosthuizen’s Professional Golf Career
Louis Oosthuizen turned professional in 2002 and initially competed on the Sunshine Tour in southern Africa and the European Tour.
His career changed dramatically in 2010.
At the Open Championship at St Andrews, Oosthuizen opened with rounds of 65 and 67 and never gave up control of the tournament. He eventually finished at 16-under par and defeated Lee Westwood by seven strokes to capture his first major championship.
The victory made Oosthuizen the fourth South African to win The Open, following Bobby Locke, Gary Player, and Ernie Els. His seven-shot margin remains one of the most dominant Open Championship victories of the modern era. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”1″}
Oosthuizen came close to winning several more majors.
He lost a playoff to Bubba Watson at the 2012 Masters after making one of the most memorable shots in Masters history — an albatross on the par-5 second hole during the final round.
He finished runner-up at the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, finished second at the U.S. Open, and has also finished runner-up at the PGA Championship. That gives Oosthuizen the unusual distinction of having finished second in all four major championships. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”2″}
Over his career, Oosthuizen has risen as high as No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has won 11 DP World Tour titles. His PGA TOUR record includes 221 starts, one official victory — the 2010 Open Championship — 12 runner-up finishes, and more than $28 million in official PGA TOUR earnings. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”3″}
In 2022, Oosthuizen joined LIV Golf.
He later became captain of the all-South African team originally known as Stinger GC. Beginning with the 2026 season, the team was renamed Southern Guards GC, with Oosthuizen continuing as captain alongside fellow South Africans Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester, and Branden Grace. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”4″}
Oosthuizen continued competing on LIV Golf during the 2026 season, including the league’s first South African event. He also qualified for the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale but withdrew before the tournament because of a back injury. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”5″}
More than two decades after turning professional, Oosthuizen remains one of South Africa’s most recognizable golfers — and probably one of the few major champions whose collection of tractors and excavators is just as interesting as his collection of luxury cars.
