Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of excitement with the three-man playoff, but it’s not the outcome half of the golf world was hoping for.
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“It’s the who’s who in the game”, Johnson said, while cradling the Claret Jug.
Falling just out of the playoff was the fellow that almost every American was probably rooting for, and that’s Jordan Spieth.
The Grand Slam is another matter.
Everyone except Zach Johnson, his family and loved ones.
He seized his chance when it arrived, and now his name will forever be associated with the most famous golf course, and championship, on the planet. Out ahead of Spieth and the rest of a logjammed leader board in slightly milder weather, he ran off seven birdies in his first 12 holes and needed just 26 putts to complete his round.
“I think the way I played this week would have won the US Open”.
The prodigy bounced back with consecutive birdies on his next two holes and just like that he was back in contention.
A missed 8-footer on the treacherous 17th hole helped seal Spieth’s fate on the Old Course. Spieth shot 14-under-par for the four rounds, and was lurking behind the leading scorers during his final 36 holes.
“When you see three amateurs within three or four shots of the lead it says how good they are”, said McDowell. Spieth has bounced back from worse than just a bogey, so it was destiny for him get a birdie and join the playoff, right?
“We gave it a great effort,” Spieth said.
On the third playoff hole, Johnson yanked his approach shot and was short-sided left of the green.
Earlier, the devout Christian revealed that he prepared for the tournament not just by practicing golf but also by reading Scripture. It was one that someone else won.
Jordan Spieth claims an amateur is going to win a Major in the next decade.
“If you look at it that way it kind of takes the pressure off. I don’t want to make it any bigger than what it should be”. “Yeah, maybe a little bit”.
Spieth showed guts over the final two hours, and class when his bid was over.
And, shortly after, we learned something else about the mature beyond his years Spieth – evidently he’s not superstitious.
While Zach Johnson was winning the British Open in a playoff over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman, young Spieth was watching and learning and counting the ways he lost the third leg of the Grand Slam.
The winner’s take at the Masters and the U.S. Open were $1.8 million each; at the John Deere, $846,000. Would he get revenge for his missed opportunity at Chambers Bay? Obviously, to win at the home of golf and to win the oldest major championship in the process has got to be pretty incredible.
He knew Oosthuizen or Leishman easily could have won.
His winning spree sent his prize money for the year to $9,170,215. Majority fell away.
Tiger Woods’ first try at St. Andrews in 1995 featured a 74 to open and a 78 in the final round. I did not see that happening. His birdie putt was timid, stopping about 5 feet short.
Spieth’s share of fourth place still brought him a paycheck of $460,377.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Sergio Garcia choked. Garcia finished tied for sixth for his ninth top-10 finish at an Open Championship. “That’s what he said he was going to do”. “Today was a really tough day”.
Garcia still does not have a major on his resume, but he sure has come close.
In a way, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia are very similar.
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“There’s not a person that anybody would rather have here than Rory”, the American said. We learned that Sergio is still Sergio this week and that he will continue to choke when it matters most. The game of golf is a brutal, heartbreaking sport and can be unpredictable at times.
