There is something reassuring about Louis Oosthuizen and the Masters. It showed again in the opening round of the strange 2020 edition at Augusta National on Thursday as the 2012 runner-up carded a four-under-par 68.

That left him just three shots off the early lead set by Paul Casey, and with just Webb Simpson and Xander Schauffele on five-under ahead of him at the early stages of the weather-delayed first round.

What was significant about Oosthuizen’s round was the utter calmness of it, from the birdie on the tough 11^th after he started his round on the 10^th with a par, to the way he bounced back from his only bogey of the day which came on the sixth on his way in.

He rectified that blemish on his scorecard with a superb one-putt birdie on the par-five seventh after getting himself in trouble off the tee when he put his drive into the trees on the left. He sliced a recovery onto the fairway, and, with 189 yards left, he simply deposited his approach to four feet and made the putt.

If there is a player who is likely to benefit from the eerie quiet around the course in the absence of fans, it certainly seems as if it could be Oosthuizen. For while Oosthuizen has been in positions where he has clearly thrived on the pressure brought on by the throngs around him and the noise they create, he seems utterly focused when they are not there.

Paired with the man who many had installed as the pre-Masters favourite, Bryson DeChambeau, Oosthuizen made a sensible approach seem far more appropriate for Augusta National in November. Well, perhaps at any time, as DeChambeau tried to overpower the course as he said he would. Instead, the US Open champion had to rely on consecutive birdies on his final two holes to bring him to two-under for the tournament.

His method for playing the always challenging 13^th was perhaps emblematic of the struggles which appear to await him as the Masters unfolds. He tried to smash a drive into the open spaces beyond the trees on the right, but his 313-yard effort only found the pine straw in those trees. His attempt to cover the 194 remaining yards to the flag from that lie saw him fly over the green into the shrubbery. A provisional to cover himself in case that ball could not be found succeeded only in dribbling into the tributary of Rae’s Creek. He took a penalty drop out of the shrubbery on finding his first ball. He duffed his first attempted chip, hit his fifth to a couple of feet, missed that butt and eventually took double-bogey there.

While he seemed to remain outwardly calm, it was a vivid contrast to the obviously controlled approach shown by Oosthuizen who has started well in search of another major championship to add to his spectacular 2010 Open Championship which he won by seven strokes.

He looks to be in the right place at the right time at this early stage.