Zach Johnson of the US claimed the second major triumph of his career after winning a four-hole playoff at the end of a captivating final round at the Open Championship on Monday.
In an Open that never seemed to want to end, the 39-year-old surged through the field with a closing 66 before overcoming South African Louis Oosthuizen (69) and Australian Marc Leishman (66) on extra holes.
“I feel blessed to be the champion and honored to be part of the history of this game,” Johnson said.
Photo: AP
“It has been a week of patience, courage and trust. I cannot play any better than I did. I just stayed in it, waited for the opportunities and made a few putts,” he added.
Johnson, who won the US Masters in 2007, took a vice-like grip on the playoff by ramming in birdie putts of 12 and 18 feet at the first two holes and could afford the luxury of taking a bogey at the 17th before a par four at the last sealed victory.
Oosthuizen, winner of the 2010 Open, was level-par for the extra holes, while Leishman effectively played himself out of it when he three-putted the first. He ended two-over.
Johnson wiped tears from his eyes before hugging his wife as he walked off the 18th green to pick up the coveted Claret Jug and a first prize of ￡1.15 million (US$1.79 million).
One of the first to congratulate Johnson was fellow American Jordan Spieth, who failed to make the playoff by one stroke after a day of fluctuating fortunes.
Spieth, 21, bidding to become the first player since compatriot Ben Hogan in 1953 to land the opening three majors of the year, finished with a three-under 69 for a 274 total at 14-under.
Johnson, Leishman and Oosthuizen ended the regulation 72 holes on 15-under.
Irish amateur Paul Dunne, who went into the final round of golf’s oldest major in a tie for the lead, slumped to a closing 78 and ended in a share of 30th position on 282.
Earlier, Johnson came sprinting out of the blocks with a swashbuckling run of seven birdies on the opening 12 holes.
He dropped strokes at the 13th and 17th, completely fluffing his second shot at the notorious “Road Hole” after his feet slipped in the wet rough.
Johnson bounced straight back by gently caressing a 35-foot birdie putt into the cup on the 72nd green, letting out a roar of delight as the ball disappeared into the hole.
Leishman then missed a 20-foot birdie putt at the 18th that would have given him outright victory, but had the consolation of knowing his last two rounds of 64 and 66 tied the record Open low for the closing 36 holes.
Oosthuizen appeared to be out of contention until he holed a 15-foot par-saving effort at the 17th and chipped to four feet at the 18th before rolling in his birdie putt to join Johnson and Leishman in the playoff.
Spieth’s chances were effectively wrecked when he took four putts from 100 feet to double-bogey the eighth, eventually settling for a share of fourth place with Australian Jason Day (70).
Jordan Niebrugge of the US went round in a highly creditable 70 to finish as the leading amateur, in a tie for sixth spot on 277 with British pair Justin Rose and Danny Willett, and Spain’s Sergio Garcia.
It was only the second time the Open has finished on a Monday, with heavy rain and strong winds causing havoc earlier in the tournament.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS