Zach Johnson wins British Open after four-hole playoff

Spieth’s bid for an unprecedented golfing grand slam ended agonisingly at the British Open on Monday after he missed joining a three-way play-off by one stroke.

He made only one birdie all day, leaving him with a 7-under 209 total that puts him five shots off the lead.

Dunne, who won a place at golf’s oldest major through final qualifying, explained how he went about plotting his way towards potential glory.

Johnson headed to the practice ground to prepare for a possible four-hole play-off, and the prospects of that improved when Leishman was unable to save par from a greenside bunker on the 16th.

Johnson was the sole American to make it into the playoff round, using a thrilling buzzer-beater style putt to earn a berth in the extra round of golf.

Jordan Spieth’s dream of winning the grand slam lasted until the 72nd hole of the season’s third major when he missed a birdie putt from the Valley of Sin by 3 inches to finish one shot out of the playoff.

Three years later, Jones became the last amateur victor of the Open to date at Royal Liverpool and went on to complete the “Impregnable Quadrilateral” of Amateur Championship, Open Championship, US Open and US Amateur titles.

There are now 16 players within three shots of the lead so Ivor Robson may well be needed for a play-off.

“You’d have to pay me a million dollars a day to wear those things”, ESPN’s Paul Azinger said.

“Only one person has ever done it before – that opportunity very rarely comes around – and I’d like to have a chance to do something nobody has ever done”, said Spieth. “I’m not playing for a place”.

Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, revived his game with a 65 and was two shots behind. Surely there would be more magic to come and Spieth would enter the record books as the first player to win his first three majors of the year since Ben Hogan did it 62 years ago.

“Just try and do everything I can to play my way onto the team”, Niebrugge said.

Louis Oosthuizen is shown July 13 at the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland.

Not after the way he staggered to a 3-over 75 Sunday while most of the top contenders were ripping up the Old Course, taking advantage of the soft greens and slight breezes. Jordan Spieth and Jason Day parred hole 18 to finish at (-14). “And I’d like to be one of those people to have that happen”.

Spieth would have dislodged Rory McIlroy – resting his ruptured ankle ligaments at home after his misadventure playing football with mates earlier this month – as world No. 1 if he had clinched victory here. With a one-shot lead after powering his way around St. Andrews for 36 holes, he was the last player in the field to make a birdie Sunday, and that wasn’t until the 15th hole.

The same would apply to all money earned from the five amateurs who have made the cut this week.