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South African Oosthuizen Defeated In St Andrews Playoff

South African Oosthuizen Defeated In St Andrews Playoff

South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen came just short of winning his second Open Championship title at St Andrews on Monday evening when he failed to come top in a three-way playoff with Zach Johnson and Marc Leishman.

The top golfer required a birdie on the 18th hole to match Johnson’s one-under total for the four-hole playoff, but his 10-foot putt missed the target, handing Johnson the title in a tense final session.

It has been a tough couple of months for Oosthuizen, who suffered a similar late defeat last month at the US Open, ending in joint second place when the title was within reach.

Speaking to the media after the St Andrews showdown, the cheerful Oosthuizen was his normal positive self, though the disappointment could be seen in his demeanour.

“The front nine, you could see everyone was scoring on the front nine, and I was only – I went through in two-under, and that back nine was tough,” Oosthuizen said, according to SuperSport. “When we made the turn on 12, St Andrews showed its teeth.”

Reflecting on his loss at the death at St Andrews, the South African was keen to take lessons from the encounter, and looked forward to next year’s event.

“It’s never nice to lose a playoff. I’ve had the experience in 2012 at Augusta. But yeah, I’ll take a lot out of this week. I was really motivated to win this championship. I love this place. I’ve said it a thousand times. I can’t wait for it to come back here again,” he admitted.