From the time Tom Kidd took possession of the claret jug after winning the 1873 British Open, all forms of liquid have been poured into the oldest trophy in golf for celebratory partaking, including alcohol, coffee, milk and even barbeque sauce.

"When you are taking your first drink out of it, you are very aware of who had this trophy before you," said Padraig Harrington, who had the silver jug for two consecutive years after winning the Open in 2007 and '08. His son, Patrick, even stored his toy lady bugs in the silver jug.

"I'm thinking, should I sterilize this first?"

The current owner of the trophy, Louis Oosthuizen, doesn't have to worry about that. The only thing going into the claret jug while he has it is air.

"The jug to me is very holy ground, so I haven't drank anything out of it," Oosthuizen said Tuesday as he prepared for this week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

"I don't know if I will."

While he's put his own spin on the long-held tradition, there's little concern the son of a sheepherder will change now that he's a major champion. Though most people still can't pronounce his name (WUHST-hy-zen), the South African who stunned the golf world by winning by seven shots on the Old Course in St. Andrews is still the same well-grounded, modest gent he was before winning the oldest tournament in golf.

"He's still the same guy, from when he was 15 when I met him to today when he's 27 years old," said Ernie Els, whose foundation in South Africa helped nurture Oosthuizen's golf career. "He's just a little bit better golfer.

"We were together last week. Actually went to his golf club where they honored him. It was an absolute circus. But he's taking it in his stride, and I think he'll continue doing that."

This despite having a bridge named in his honor at Albertinia Golf Club, where he first started to play golf. Or getting a phone call from Greg Norman, who told Oosthuizen that he was the first player to force Norman to watch an entire round of golf on television. Or being the center of attention last week for parties and more phone calls than he could count.

His most extravagant purchase was not a Ferrari but a tractor for his farm that is adjacent to his father's farm.

Last week, amid all the hoopla, Oosthuizen broke the tractor in with two eight-hour work days on his 60 acres.

"I thought I was going to have a few days off, and I didn't," said Oosthuizen, who didn't touch a golf club last week. "I think you've got this picture in your mind what it's going to be like after a major win, and I think it was 10 times what I expected. But if you're on the golf course, I think it's different. You just want to get out there and play."

And play well. That's what Open runner-up Lee Westwood expects Oosthuizen to do.

"I think most people would have been surprised that he won the Open Championship, but when you watch him hit the ball and see his all-around game, the only surprise would be that he hasn't won more often," Westwood said. "The way he won the Open, mentally he won it in a very strong manner. He's going to be very strong for a long time."

After soaring to major triumph, Oosthuizen stays grounded