ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – The 17th ‘Road’ hole at St Andrews lived up to its billing as the ‘toughest par-four in championship golf’ with organisers backing the decision to add an extra 40 yards to the challenge.

Much of the drama of the 150th anniversary British Open was played out on the 495-yard hole which provided the most difficult test of the week with a stroke average of 4.66.

“I think the 17th tee has been a great success, in terms of stiffening the test of that hole,” Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient organisers, told a news conference on Monday.

“I said at the beginning of the week we were hoping the road (at the back of the green) might come more back into play and by gosh it did. The player comment by and large has been very positive.”

Former Open champion Sandy Lyle hit one drive on to the roof of the Old Course Hotel while Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez had the crowds purring on Saturday night with an audacious chip punched deliberately against the back wall by the road, arcing the ball back over his shoulder and on to the putting surface.

It had not been an unqualified success though, with Dawson saying he thought the rough to the left of the fairway had been allowed to become too deep.

“I do agree with (Northern Ireland’s) Graeme (McDowell) about the rough,” Dawson said.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – The 17th ‘Road’ hole at St Andrews lived up to its billing as the ‘toughest par-four in championship golf’ with organizers backing the decision to add an extra 40 yards to the challenge.

Much of the drama of the 150th anniversary British Open was played out on the 495-yard hole which provided the most difficult test of the week with a stroke average of 4.66.

“I think the 17th tee has been a great success, in terms of stiffening the test of that hole,” Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient organizers, told a news conference on Monday.

“I said at the beginning of the week we were hoping the road (at the back of the green) might come more back into play and by gosh it did. The player comment by and large has been very positive.”

Former Open champion Sandy Lyle hit one drive on to the roof of the Old Course Hotel while Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez had the crowds purring on Saturday night with an audacious chip punched deliberately against the back wall by the road, arcing the ball back over his shoulder and on to the putting surface.

It had not been an unqualified success though, with Dawson saying he thought the rough to the left of the fairway had been allowed to become too deep.

“I do agree with (Northern Ireland’s) Graeme (McDowell) about the rough,” Dawson said.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, July 19 (Reuters) – The 17th ‘Road’ hole at St Andrews lived up to its billing as the ‘toughest par-four in championship golf’ with organisers backing the decision to add an extra 40 yards to the challenge.

Much of the drama of the 150th anniversary British Open was played out on the 495-yard hole which provided the most difficult test of the week with a stroke average of 4.66.

“I think the 17th tee has been a great success, in terms of stiffening the test of that hole,” Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient organisers, told a news conference on Monday.

“I said at the beginning of the week we were hoping the road (at the back of the green) might come more back into play and by gosh it did. The player comment by and large has been very positive.”

Former Open champion Sandy Lyle hit one drive on to the roof of the Old Course Hotel while Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez had the crowds purring on Saturday night with an audacious chip punched deliberately against the back wall by the road, arcing the ball back over his shoulder and on to the putting surface.

It had not been an unqualified success though, with Dawson saying he thought the rough to the left of the fairway had been allowed to become too deep.

“I do agree with (Northern Ireland’s) Graeme (McDowell) about the rough,” Dawson said.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen turned the British Open into a procession on Sunday, winning the famed Claret Jug after crushing the world’s best by seven strokes at the home of golf.

The 27-year-old brought the Old Course, and the rest of the field, to its knees with an assured display of ball-striking and control to become the sixth South African major winner, and the first at the Open since Ernie Els in 2002.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say happy birthday to Mr Nelson Mandela back in South Africa,” Oosthuizen said after being presented with the trophy on the 18th green.

It was the former South African president’s 92nd birthday on Sunday.

Oosthuizen, who had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens and was a 200-1 outsider before the tournament started, never looked like being headed after starting the day four clear and he finished with a 71 for a 16-under total of 272.

The 27-year-old sank a short par putt at the 18th, took off his cap to acknowledge the thunderous applause from the crowd that lined the revered fairways, hugged his caddie before embracing his wife Nel-Mare and young daughter Jana.

England’s Lee Westwood emerged from the pack to finish second, a 70 putting him on 279.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – Lee Westwood was once asked if he rated the Old Course at St Andrews as the best in the world and replied he thought it was not in the top 100 in Fife. Whether he was joking or not, he does not mean it now.

The home of golf has finally earned the respect of the world number three after a testing week which saw South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen emerge as the British Open champion.

“It’s grown on me over the years,” the Briton told reporters after a closing 70 saw him go one better than his tie for third at Turnberry 12 months ago.

Westwood has not won a major yet but his record in the big four is as good as anyone over the last few years, and another week where no putts seemed to drop for him cost him the chance of a maiden win before his home crowd.

But one thing the Englishman, who came into the week with an ankle injury hanging over his participation, can take from the tournament is a new-found admiration for the Old Course which tested the world’s best 156 golfers to their limit.

“I think when you’re young and a bit naive you come here and you kind of bash it around trying to hit it everywhere and it’s the kind of course that can lull you into a false sense of security,” he said after his fourth top-10 Open finish.

“It has a lot of subtleties out there. You see a lot of big, deep traps and a lot of big high slopes and mounds on the greens.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, July 18 (Reuters) – Lee Westwood was once asked if he rated the Old Course at St Andrews as the best in the world and replied he thought it was not in the top 100 in Fife. Whether he was joking or not, he does not mean it now.

The home of golf has finally earned the respect of the world number three after a testing week which saw South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen emerge as the British Open champion.

“It’s grown on me over the years,” the Briton told reporters after a closing 70 saw him go one better than his tie for third at Turnberry 12 months ago.

Westwood has not won a major yet but his record in the big four is as good as anyone over the last few years, and another week where no putts seemed to drop for him cost him the chance of a maiden win before his home crowd.

But one thing the Englishman, who came into the week with an ankle injury hanging over his participation, can take from the tournament is a new-found admiration for the Old Course which tested the world’s best 156 golfers to their limit.

“I think when you’re young and a bit naive you come here and you kind of bash it around trying to hit it everywhere and it’s the kind of course that can lull you into a false sense of security,” he said after his fourth top-10 Open finish.

“It has a lot of subtleties out there. You see a lot of big, deep traps and a lot of big high slopes and mounds on the greens.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – South African Louis Oosthuizen kept his cool to claim a first major title with a crushing seven-stroke victory in the British Open at the home of golf on Sunday.

Oosthuizen, who had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens, never looked like being headed after starting the day four clear and finished with a 71 for a 16-under total of 272.

The 27-year-old sank a short par putt at the 18th, took off his cap to acknowledge the thunderous applause from the crowd, hugged his caddie before embracing his wife and young daughter Jana.

“It’s unbelievable, after the 12th hole it actually became difficult having such a big lead, to keep calm, and I’m glad I had those (spare) shots on 18 because I cramped a little with the putter,” Oosthuizen told the BBC.

“It’s just amazing.”

England’s Lee Westwood emerged from the pack to finish second with a two under 70 putting him on 279.

Paul Casey, who began the day as Oosthuizen’s closest challenger, ended in a tie for third place on eight under alongside Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – Louis Oosthuizen faced his moment of truth on Sunday, teeing off at the first hole in the final round of the British Open with a four-shot lead and a hungry chasing pack looking to score low.

The 27-year-old Oosthuizen and England’s Paul Casey were the last of the 39 pairings to go out as strengthening winds at the Old Course promised to make it an unpredictable afternoon of scoring in the year’s third major.

Playing partner Casey presented the biggest threat to Oosthuizen becoming the first South African winner of the Claret Jug since Ernie Els in 2002, the Englishman’s joint best of the day 67 on Saturday putting him on 11 under.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer was third after a 68 on Saturday put him three adrift of Casey while any meltdowns by the leaders could be lapped up by England’s ever-consistent Lee Westwood or Sweden’s Henrik Stenson on seven under.

Of the early starters, Tiger Woods’s title hopes vanished after two ugly double bogeys.

With his old putter back in the bag after an indifferent three days on the greens and sporting his traditional final-round red shirt, the world number one opened birdie-par- birdie to crank up the anxiety levels of the final groupings.

But a wayward second at the par-four fourth led to two dropped shots and another double bogey followed three holes later as he slumped to one under.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, July 18 (Reuters) – Louis Oosthuizen faced his moment of truth on Sunday, teeing off at the first hole in the final round of the British Open with a four-shot lead and a hungry chasing pack looking to score low.

The 27-year-old Oosthuizen and England’s Paul Casey were the last of the 39 pairings to go out as strengthening winds at the Old Course promised to make it an unpredictable afternoon of scoring in the year’s third major.

Playing partner Casey presented the biggest threat to Oosthuizen becoming the first South African winner of the Claret Jug since Ernie Els in 2002, the Englishman’s joint best of the day 67 on Saturday putting him on 11 under.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer was third after a 68 on Saturday put him three adrift of Casey while any meltdowns by the leaders could be lapped up by England’s ever-consistent Lee Westwood or Sweden’s Henrik Stenson on seven under.

Of the early starters, Tiger Woods’s title hopes vanished after two ugly double bogeys.

With his old putter back in the bag after an indifferent three days on the greens and sporting his traditional final-round red shirt, the world number one opened birdie-par- birdie to crank up the anxiety levels of the final groupings.

But a wayward second at the par-four fourth led to two dropped shots and another double bogey followed three holes later as he slumped to one under.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – After the savage St Andrews weather battered the confidence of Rory McIlroy on Friday, he got his British Open challenge back on course with a defiant third round.

McIlroy’s 69 maintained his record of never carding a round in the 70s at the Old Course, but unfortunately for the 21-year-old his demoralizing second-round 80 meant he was not challenging more strongly going into the final round.

The Northern Irishman went out in 34 on Saturday and further birdies at the 12th and 15th put him back in touching distance of the chasing pack in hot pursuit of leader Louis Oosthuizen.

But a double bogey at the treacherous 17th hole scuppered his chances of getting back into genuine contention. He picked up another shot at the 18th to leave him on four-under 212.

“I definitely hit a few shots out there that I wasn’t able to play yesterday. I think it might have just been because I had 80 shots yesterday, so I had a little bit of practice,” he joked with reporters by the windswept 18th green.

“I hit a good shot on 17, just got a gust of wind that completely switched. I hit a seven-iron 210 yards and got a complete gust there, so it was pretty unfortunate.

McIlroy’s second to 17 ended up jammed against the wall at the back of the putting surface. He did well to chip to the far side of the green before three-putting for a six.