Twelve months ago Schwartzel memorably birdied the final four holes to clinch a famous victory and Oosthuizen very nearly matched his fellow South African's feat on Thursday.

The 2010 Open champion birdied four of his last five holes, but had to settle for a par on 16 to finish the day on four-under - one stroke behind early leader Lee Westwood.

"I gave it a run, missed by one!" he told reporters afterwards. "Played really well at the end, hit a lot of fairways and hit it pretty close and made a few putts."

First cut

However, Oosthuizen's excellent start means he is all but a certainty to make the cut at Augusta for the first time in four career attempts.

The 29-year-old admits he is feeling good about his game and will now focus on trying to put himself in contention come Sunday evening.

"I felt confident practicing out here and just hitting the ball well," he continued. "There's still a long way to go, but I feel good.

"It was a really good round, probably a bit bumpy in the beginning but I kept going. This golf course, you've got to be very patient.

"You play every week to put yourself in a position on the back nine on the Sunday to win, so that's a big aim, getting to 12, 13 on Sunday and maybe having a chance to win."