Louis Oosthuizen shoots 66 to tie for lead

Louis Oosthuizen caught fire Friday at the Masters, carding seven birdies and only one bogey en route to a 6-under-par 66 to put him in a tie for first heading into the weekend.

The South African sits at 7-under for the tournament, tied with Jason Day, Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka and Adam Scott. All five  have won a major championship.

The 66 was the second-lowest round of the day behind Xander Schauffele who recorded a 65.

Oosthuizen opened his round with a quick birdie on No. 1 after sinking a 24-foot putt. The South African appeared frustrated after his second shot but quickly smiled after seeing the ball drop in the hole. This set the pace for his round as Oosthuizen began to get hot with his putter.

The 2010 British Open champion was tied for second with Billy Horschel in putts made over 20-feet with three. Oosthuizen nearly aced the 240 yard par-3 fourth hole after landing the ball within a foot of the pin. The 35-year-old then tapped in for birdie.

The 19th-ranked golfer in the world made four birdies on the front nine and carded a clean back nine with birdies on holes 12, 13 and 15.

A clutch up and down for par on 18 after finding the right green-side bunker ensured Oosthuizen a tie for the lead.

Shouts of "Louie!" rang out from the patrons as he walked off 18.  A Masters win narrowly escaped the Mossel Bay, South Africa native  in 2012 when he lost a playoff to Bubba Watson.

Oosthuizen has also come close to winning the U.S. Open and PGA Championship where he finished tied for second in 2015 and 2017. He will tee off Saturday at 2:25 p.m. and is paired with world No. 2 Dustin Johnson.

“He’s basically had a chance to win every major championship," Golf Channel's Frank Nobilo said. "As someone that’s born outside of America, he’s expected to play at home. He’s expected to play in Europe and still support their tour. He does. And he still wins. And he’s gotten very, very close over here. I think if people were looking at that leaderboard and say ‘that’s Louis Oosthuizen with one win,’ they’ve got it so wrong.”