Zach Johnson claimed the second major of his career with a one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen after a three-way playoff at St Andrews
It was somewhat fitting that the tournament that seemed like it would never end went into extra time as Johnson, Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman were forced to go to four added holes to find a winner after the trio were tied on -15 for the tournament.
Irish amateur Paul Dunne didn’t get the final round he’d have dreamt of last night, but he can still be very pleased with his effort this week, finishing on -7.
Padraig Harrington also fell off the pace early into his round as it quickly became clear that we weren’t going to get an Irish winner.
A play-off looked on the cards for a long time – it was just a question of how many players would taken part in it.
In the end there was three as Jordan Spieth came agonisingly close to putting himself in the mix for a third consecutive major. he missed out on the playoff by one shot.
Johnson, Oosthuizen and Leishman replayed the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th holes and it quickly became a two-horse race as both Oosthuizen and Johnson birdied the first while Leishman bogeyed.
On the 2nd, Johnson moved to -2 after a stunning approach shot, as his opponents managed par.
A birdie for Johnson on play-off hole No. 2 moves him into the lead.
Johnson -2
Oosthuizen -1
Leishman +1#TheOpenhttps://t.co/w8yh6UXNXo— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2015
On the 17th, a hole where only one birdie was shot in today’s final round, Johnson landed between the hole and the Road Hole bunker.
The 39-year-old American went for a tough chip, but landed in the rough. Leishman’s chip left himself short, and finished with a bogey. While Oosthuizen missed a tricky putt to level.
Johnson went into the final play-off hole on -1, a shot ahead of Oosthuizen, and three ahead of Leishman.
Johnson hit a beautiful approach shot with his second, leaving himself with about fifteen feet to the flag, but missed the subsequent putt and finishing the play-off on 1 under.
Ooshuizen, however, missed a putt to make birdie, and a chance to replay the final hole, securing The Open title for Johnson.
Earlier, Dunne had came into the final round in a share of the lead on -12, after three fantastic rounds of 69, 69, and 66.
However, the Greystones native started his final round nervously, bogeying the first two holes, and steadily slipped down the leaderboard.
Dunne also finished his round with two bogeys, finishing the round six over, and in a tie for 13th overall.
He also missed out on the Silver Medal, and such was the quality on display that ended as only the fourth best placed amateur in the field, but will be immensely proud of his performance nonetheless.
Padraig Harrington was another Irishman who came into today’s final round with an opportunity to lift the Claret Jug. The Dubliner began the day two shots off the leaders, on -10, but failed to mount a challenge for the title he won in 2007 and 2008.
Harrington suffered four bogeys, and two double-bogeys in his final round, leaving him +3 in his final round, seven under for the tournament and giving him a tie for 20th position
If you want to catch up on all of today’s play, you can check out our live blog of the final day of The Open here.
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