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.

He spoke as workmen dismantled the huge scaffolding supporting the scoreboard and stands, and as club golfers teed off on the first hole just yards from the 18th green where on Sunday Louis Oosthuizen secured his crushing seven-stroke Open victory.

“I would have liked it a little bit thinner but it grew very rapidly in the weeks before the championship having been pretty much how we wanted it two or three weeks ago,” Dawson said.

He said enough was enough though and there was no plan to make it an even sterner test when the Open returns to St Andrews, probably in 2015.

“I think we could go back lots of yards but I don’t think that would be appropriate. We have no even embryonic plans for lengthening the course any further.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

(For more news on Reuters India, click in.reuters.com)

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.

He spoke as workmen dismantled the huge scaffolding supporting the scoreboard and stands, and as club golfers teed off on the first hole just yards from the 18th green where on Sunday Louis Oosthuizen secured his crushing seven-stroke Open victory.

“I would have liked it a little bit thinner but it grew very rapidly in the weeks before the championship having been pretty much how we wanted it two or three weeks ago,” Dawson said.

He said enough was enough though and there was no plan to make it an even sterner test when the Open returns to St Andrews, probably in 2015.

“I think we could go back lots of yards but I don’t think that would be appropriate. We have no even embryonic plans for lengthening the course any further.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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.

He spoke as workmen dismantled the huge scaffolding
supporting the scoreboard and stands, and as club golfers teed
off on the first hole just yards from the 18th green where on
Sunday Louis Oosthuizen secured his crushing seven-stroke Open
victory.

“I would have liked it a little bit thinner but it grew very
rapidly in the weeks before the championship having been pretty
much how we wanted it two or three weeks ago,” Dawson said.

He said enough was enough though and there was no plan to
make it an even sterner test when the Open returns to St
Andrews, probably in 2015.

“I think we could go back lots of yards but I don’t think
that would be appropriate. We have no even embryonic plans for
lengthening the course any further.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story
emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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.

Compatriot Paul Casey (75), who began the day as Oosthuizen’s closest challenger, ended in a tie for third spot on eight under alongside Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (71) and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (68).

TITANIC BATTLE

From the moment Oosthuizen took the lead with a birdie at the seventh hole early on Friday morning, the cynics have been predicting his downfall, but the man nicknamed Shrek not only held on to it but methodically extended it despite all the brickbats the course and weather could hurl in his path.

Born Lodewicus Theodorus and named after his grandfather, to the Claret Jug engraver’s eternal gratitude he is known simply as Louis.

The scene was set for a titanic battle between the final pairing when Casey missed a five-foot putt at the first for a birdie that would have put Oosthuizen under early pressure, and when the Englishman bogeyed the second the South African’s lead was five shots.

Casey cut the deficit to four with a birdie at the sixth but as the chances went begging and no-one from the chasing pack threatened to take the Old Course apart, the title looked like Oosthuizen’s with every passing hole.

The South African even escaped with a par at the fifth after his second found the deep gorse and his recovery scooped up an enormous tuft of undergrowth on his follow-through.

A bogey from Oosthuizen at the eighth cut the deficit to three for the only time in the day but a superb 40-foot putt for an eagle two at the ninth restored the four-shot cushion and the momentum moved inexorably in his favor.

Casey’s chances of mounting a challenge vanished along with his ball in the fairway gorse when his drive at the 12th found an unplayable lie.

He took a penalty drop and went on to card a triple-bogey seven to Oosthuizen’s birdie and all of a sudden the lead was eight and there was only going to be one winner.

“To win an Open championship is special but to win it here at St Andrews is something you dream about,” he said after revealing compatriot and nine-times major winner Gary Player had called with words of encouragement on Sunday morning.

TORRID DAY

The win, which moved Oosthuizen from 54th to 15th in the world rankings, earned him $1.31 million and made a mockery of the form book.

Not only had he never made an Open cut before but it was only his second professional win outside South Africa while his previous best finish in a major was 73rd in the 2008 U.S. PGA Championship.

World number one Tiger Woods endured another torrid day on the famed links and even his decision to restore the putter he ditched for Thursday’s opening round failed to produce results.

His outward 37, scarred by two double bogeys, saw him sink down the field to finish on three-under in a tie for 23rd.

“You just can’t play and expect to win golf tournaments if you have nine or 10 three-putts in a week,” said Woods who won the last two Opens staged here. “No one can win doing that.”

McIlroy’s second-round 80 looked bad when he finished on Friday, it looked even more costly on Sunday after his closing 68 maintained the 21-year-old’s run of never carding a round in the 70s here.

“I couldn’t help but think about Friday going up the last hole there,” he said. “If I had just sort of stuck in a little bit more on Friday and held it together more, it could have been a different story.”

Westwood was delighted to emerge from a wretched week of putting, where nothing really dropped for him, by going one better than his tie for third at Turnberry last year.

“I keep putting myself into contention in these major championships and keep finishing in the top three. It’s not really to be sniffed at and complained about,” he said.

South Korea’s Jin Jeong made sure of the Silver Medal for leading amateur, signing off in style with an eagle two at the 72nd hole for a share of 14th place.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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.

“It’s quite a subtle golf course and needs some thinking about. It’s one of my favorites. It’s one of the golf courses I truly look forward to coming and playing now.”

Westwood said his injury had little effect on the outcome of the tournament and he could swing easily enough. He faces a couple of weeks resting before tackling the rest of the season.

“I think there’s an improvement there and if I can just take it easy the next couple of weeks and rehab it correctly, I think I should be over it pretty quickly.

“It’ll be okay for the (WGC Invitational at) Bridgestone (next month) and the U.S. PGA.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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.

“It’s quite a subtle golf course and needs some thinking
about. It’s one of my favourites. It’s one of the golf courses I
truly look forward to coming and playing now.”

Westwood said his injury had little effect on the outcome of
the tournament and he could swing easily enough. He faces a
couple of weeks resting before tackling the rest of the season.

“I think there’s an improvement there and if I can just take
it easy the next couple of weeks and rehab it correctly, I think
I should be over it pretty quickly.

“It’ll be okay for the (WGC Invitational at) Bridgestone
(next month) and the U.S. PGA.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story
emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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.

Oosthuizen became the sixth South African major winner and the first to lift the Claret Jug since Ernie Els in 2002.

Tiger Woods, with the putter he ditched at the start of the week returned to his bag, could not add to his three Claret Jugs after an outward 37 scarred by two double bogeys saw him sink down the field to finish on three-under in a tie for 23rd.

South Korea’s Jin Jeong made sure of the Silver Medal for leading amateur, signing off in style with an eagle two at the 72nd hole and a share of 14th place.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez.

To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

(For more news on Reuters India, click in.reuters.com)

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.

FORECAST WIND

Colombian Camilo Villegas gave some indication of the forecast wind when his punched second to the first fell some 20 feet short of the Swilcan Burn guarding the front edge of the green.

No such problems though for Spain’s big-hitting Alvaro Quiros who equalled the best score of the day so far with a six-birdie, five under 67.

American Rickie Fowler, dressed head to toe in a startling all-orange outfit, prompted the biggest roar of the day so far when he drained a monster 120-foot putt from the front of the ‘Road’ hole’s 17th green for birdie.

A new name is set to be inscribed on the Claret Jug and St Andrews seems likely to deliver a maiden major winner with only Retief Goosen, who started the day on five under, in the leading 17 players at the start of the round to have won one of golf’s Big Four.

South Korea’s Jin Jeong, 20, will be assured of the Silver Medal for leading amateur as long as he completes his round after being the only one to survive the halfway cut.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez.

To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

(For more news on Reuters India, click in.reuters.com)

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.

FORECAST WIND

Colombian Camilo Villegas gave some indication of the
forecast wind when his punched second to the first fell some 20
feet short of the Swilcan Burn guarding the front edge of the
green.

No such problems though for Spain’s big-hitting Alvaro
Quiros who equalled the best score of the day so far with a
six-birdie, five under 67.

American Rickie Fowler, dressed head to toe in a startling
all-orange outfit, prompted the biggest roar of the day so far
when he drained a monster 120-foot putt from the front of the
‘Road’ hole’s 17th green for birdie.

A new name is set to be inscribed on the Claret Jug and St
Andrews seems likely to deliver a maiden major winner with only
Retief Goosen, who started the day on five under, in the leading
17 players at the start of the round to have won one of golf’s
Big Four.

South Korea’s Jin Jeong, 20, will be assured of the Silver
Medal for leading amateur as long as he completes his round
after being the only one to survive the halfway cut.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story
emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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.

The world number nine said he would need to reproduce the kind of numbers he carded for his opening course record 63 if he was to have a chance of lifting the Claret Jug and his first major.

“If the lead tomorrow is eight, nine, ten under par going into tomorrow, I feel I’ve got a really good chance because I know what I’m capable of around this golf course and I know what I’m capable of in final rounds,” he said.

(Editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)