It's a major championship formula we know all too well -- the third-round leader extending his edge, discouraging his challengers and waltzing through a congratulatory back nine.

But it's Tiger Woods' method, not Louis Oosthuizen's.

At the Old Course at St. Andrews on Sunday, with everyone expecting him to self-destruct like Jean Van de Velde, Oosthuizen took all the suspense out of the Open Championship.

Making a 35-foot eagle putt on the 9th hole, then watching his foes shrivel on the back nine, Oosthuizen rolled to a seven-stroke victory. The last player not named Woods to capture a major so decisively was Ray Floyd, a winner by eight strokes in the 1976 Masters.

So move over Louis Vuitton. Move over Louis Armstrong. There's another Louis going household.

Oosthuizen made it look easy, certainly easier than pronouncing his last name. The Royal and Ancient's proper chief executive, Peter Dawson, even botched it afterward when he gave Oosthuizen the trophy.

With his perfectly balanced swing never wavering, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound South African continually pumped 320-yard drives down the middle. For the tournament, he hit 55 of 64 fairways and 60 of 72 greens. It might have been the best driving performance in a major since John Daly brutalized Crooked Stick in the 1991 PGA.

"I played a practice round with him at Doral," Woods told reporters. "I was really impressed with how well he was driving -- everything on a string all day."

Woods is the only player who has made major championships look like child's play. He is the only player in history to win five majors by five or more strokes.

On Sunday, Oosthuizen made like Tiger, starting with seven straight pars and never leading by less than the four-stroke margin with which he began.

Within striking distance were several qualified candidates, all hungry for their first major. Brits Lee Westwood and Paul Casey even had a home-course advantage. But they never mounted a run, largely because of the rock-solid work of Oosthuizen.

It might as well have been a Tiger that they were chasing.