St Andrews (Scotland): Zach Johnson knows how to pick his spots, two majors under his belt one at Augusta National and one at St Andrews the two most famous golf courses in the world. His wins were eight years apart the Masters in 2007 and the British Open in 2015, and in both instances he came in under the radar. That’s the way 39-year-old Johnson likes to do things quietly, efficiently and with a minimum of fuss. But he savours them all the more so.
“It’s a feat to be invited and an honour to be invited to those tournaments, and to win at Augusta and to win The Open Championship at St Andrews, it’s hard to put it into words, as a golfer, as an athlete, as a guy,” he said. Johnson’s says his playoff victory at the Old Course on Monday over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman was down to “patience and perseverance” and “making the best of opportunities”.
His name did not appear atop the leaderboard until he stormed down the front nine on Monday with a burst of birdies. He then held firm down the tougher back nine and sunk a snaking downhill 20-footer to pitch the clubhous lead at 15 under par. No-one was able to better that. Two birdies to open the four-hole playoff proved to be enough to get him over the line, a bogey-par finish proving to be something of a low-key end.
