HAVING seen his bid for the grand slam ended last night, Jordan Spieth was the first man to congratulate new Open champion, Zach Johnson, as the 144th championship drew to a engrossing conclusion over the Old Course.
Johnson, the 39-year-old from Iowa who won the Masters in 2007, emerged triumphant from a four-hole play-off with Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman to capture the Claret Jug after the trio had tied on 15-under aggregates on the first Monday finish in the Open since 1988.
During a barnstorming finale to a championship that had been disrupted by rain and then wind, Spieth, the 21-year-old who had won the Masters and the US Open this season, came up narrowly short in his spirited bid for an historic treble of successive majors as he finished just a shot outside the play-off.
Despite his own disappointment, the young Texan was the first on the scene to congratulate the new champion. It was a touch of class that said a lot about golf’s latest superstar.
“Jordan said congratulations and told me how proud he was of me,” admitted a tearful Johnson, who closed with a six-under 66 to set an early clubhouse target. “He is a peer of mine, he is a really good friend of mine. Granted, he’s 18 years younger than me which is perspective. I can’t describe the magnitude of what he must have been going through because I’ve never been in that position. But to have a champion like Jordan take the time on the 18th and give me best wishes speaks volumes as to who he is. I’m telling you right now, he’s a better person than he is a golfer.”
Johnson remained humbled by the scale of his conquest in the home of golf. “I don’t want to make it any bigger than it should be,” added the Ryder Cup player, who denied any knowledge of a spikemark-tapping incident on the 15th green and one that officials said they were comfortable with. "This isn’t going to define my career, at least I hope it doesn’t. It’s not my legacy. As a professional golfer, I am going to a relish this and I am humbled by it. But my legacy should be my family and my kids.”
Oosthuizen, the Open champion at St Andrews in 2010, finished in second place for the second major in succession following his joint runners-up placing in last month’s US Open.
“It’s never nice to lose a play-off but I’ll take a lot out of this week,” said Oosthuizen, who birdied the final hole in regulation to force his way into the three-man play-off. “I was really motivated to win this championship. I’ve said it a thousand times, I love this place.”
Spieth, who slipped to a costly bogey on the penultimate hole, added: “I won’t beat myself up too bad. I’ll set my sights on the PGA Championship (next month). I’m not sure how many guys have won three majors in a season so that will be my next goal as far as history goes.”
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