No one ever came closer to the third leg of the Grand Slam. And when he walked off the 18th green, he had a 6-under 66 and was one shot behind with one round left.
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“No, I really wanted these experiences in two majors, and I’m absolutely thrilled that I decided to do that”, he said. “I’m not playing for a place”. I really want my shot at immortality.
The only previous need for that scenario was in 1988 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, when Seve Ballesteros of Spain claimed the Claret Jug.
And he did it two years ago at the Masters after Johnson birdied 11. This time, it was the British Open, where he lost in Monday’s playoff.
Oosthuizen too made a three at the playoff opener and Johnson made another at the second.
“The top accomplishment I’ve had so far, ” said Niebrugge, a senior-to-be at Oklahoma State. “But whether I do or not, I’ll survive either way”.
In many ways, the Open leaderboard fluctuated just as rapidly as the weather.
Oosthuizen, who was looking to make it back-to-back Open wins at St Andrews having triumphed at the Old Course by seven strokes in 2010, said that he had done well just to get into the playoff.
“It was just a day that my golf wasn’t there, so hopefully it’ll be there more in the future”.
Fox outplayed the 62-year-old dual Masters champion by four shots, the New Zealander finishing four-under par for the championship in a tie for 49th. “Whoever comes out the champion, that’s a hell of a major“.
Such an opportunity might not come around again for Spieth.
“I’m happy with the way I played all week”.
Arnold Palmer waves to the crowd as he stands on the 18th green during the Champion Golfers’ Challenge tournament ahead of the British Open.
And so it was Spieth, a 21-year-old Texan with an uncanny sense of occasion, who brought the gray, old town to life in a mixture of sunshine and rain. He recovered those two shots at the next two holes and then late in the day he birdied the 16th with the sort of magical wielding of the putter that suggested destiny might still be on his side.
Oosthuizen is closing in on a career Grand Slam of sorts. He had won the Masters and the U.S. Open, giving him a shot at joining Ben Hogan as the only golfers to win the first three majors of the year.
Chances are he will maintain his amateur status until the Walker Cup in September, but one industry insider says the financial momentum of becoming the first amateur to lead the Open after three days since 1927 will all but have disappeared. That birdie on No. 18 to even have a chance was big boy stuff. “I had a great read”, he stated after his victory. Not after the way he staggered to a 3-over 75 Sunday while most of the top contenders were ripping up the Old Course, taking advantage of the soft greens and slight breezes.
After throwing up only the second Monday finish in its 144-year history, perhaps it was inevitable the Open Championship would make us wait that little bit longer to uncloak its victor.
That’s what made Dustin Johnson’s collapse so shocking.
Johnson sunk a snaking, downhill 20-footer for birdie at the last to get to 15 under and it was up to Leishman, Spieth, Day and Oosthuizen coming up behind him to match or better his score. He followed with three straight bogeys for a 75 to fall five shots behind.
“Wow. Almost”, Spieth tweeted moments after the finish.
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Asked if it was frustrating to come so close again, Garcia said, “No, not at all”.
