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Zach Johnson grinded his way to the title on a Monday finish at the Open. It was a four-hole playoff that decided the winner in an enthralling day of golf. The other two in contention with Johnson were Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.
Oosthuizen was looking to win his second Open at St. Andrews after his famous win here in 2010. The trio were tied at 15 under par after four rounds of play ended Monday evening. Leishman couldn’t handle the pressure as he fell short of Johnson by three shots at the end.
Two challenging birdies by Johnson in the playoff helped him gain a one shot lead over Oosthuizen. After a par on the third extra hole, the South African pushed his putt on the last just wide handing Johnson a memorable win.
Jordan Spieth, who was looking for his third Major in a row finished tied fourth with Australian Jason Day at 14 under. At one point, it looked like game over for the American when he double-bogeyed at the eighth to fall 12 under. Spieth made a remarkable comeback and had a shot at playoff had he birdied on the last hole.
Englishmen Danny Willett and Justin Rose shot two-under 70s to finish sixth on 11 under along with Sergio Garcia.
Th silver medal for leading amateur went to American Jordan Niebrugge, who also hit a 70 to finish 11 under. Ireland’s Paul Dunne, the joint overnight leader, fell to joint 30th after carding a six-over 78 on six under.
Johnson was elated at raising the Claret Jug.
“Dreams have been realised and goals accomplished,” Johnson said. “It takes me back to when I turned professional. You could even go back further than that when I was playing as a youngster. These are the things you dream about. These are the things you’ve worked to get to.
“I’m humbled right now because of what’s in my lap and the names that are etched on this piece of metal. That is very special. It’s the who’s who in the game.”
Ossthuizen was disappointed at missing out on his second Major.
“It’s never nice to lose a play-off,” said Oosthuizen, the 2010 champion. “I’ve had the experience in 2012 at Augusta. You feel like you’ve got a really good chance of winning. But I’ll take a lot out of this week. I love this place, I’ve said it a thousand times. I can’t wait for it to come back here again.”
Spieth, who couldn’t join Ben Hogan as the only men to win the first three Majors congratulated his compatriot for an amazing win.
Here are other tweets after the conclusion of the Open:
