What We Learned from The Open Championship

By Matt Cochran | Jul 22, 2015

There were plenty of storylines entering Monday’s final round at the 144th Open Championship, but what we got was Zach Johnson hoisting the Claret Jug. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of excitement with the three-man playoff, but it’s not the outcome half of the golf world was hoping for.

We did however learn a few things about this wonderful game from that finish at St Andrews and it’s that heartbreak is real and very much alive in the sport.

Spieth Slam Comes to an End

Jul 20, 2015; St. Andrews, Fife, SCT; Jordan Spieth acknowledges the fans on the 18th after his final round of the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews – Old Course. Mandatory Credit: Ian Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s start with Jordan Spieth. The 21 year old was the story of the week, as he entered The Open looking to complete the third leg of the Grand Slam, something that hasn’t been done since Ben Hogan in 1953. Spieth started his round looking like he might actually pull it off.

More from European tour

He birdied three of his first six holes, until he reached the par 3 8th hole. A rare four-putt from Spieth caused him to double bogey the hole and made his chances of pulling off a win look slim. But if we’ve learned anything from Spieth this year, it’s never to doubt him.

The prodigy bounced back with consecutive birdies on his next two holes and just like that he was back in contention. Fast forward to the 16th hole where he drained a long birdie putt to give him a share of the lead. The emotion from Spieth after that putt got golf fans every pumped up because, for a brief second, it looked like we were going to see history.

Heading into the 17th hole, with golf fans holding their breath, Spieth had a poor approach shot that came up short of the green. His third shot came to rest within eight feet of the hole, a putt he needed to make to hang onto the lead. Spieth bogeyed the hole to drop one shot off the lead.

We were brought back to reality with the bogey, but still held hope as he entered the 18th hole. Spieth has bounced back from worse than just a bogey, so it was destiny for him get a birdie and join the playoff, right?

An errant tee shot gave Spieth an awkward approach to the green. He put a good swing on his second shot, but his approach spun off the green, leaving him with lengthy birdie putt, a putt that everyone wanted to go in. There wasn’t much of a chance of making the putt, but we still hung on the edge of our seats hoping it would somehow find a way in the hole.

The putt came within inches of the hole and Spieth missed out on the Claret Jug by less than a foot. All of the hype in the weeks leading up to The Open came down to the final hole on Monday, but it was simply not meant to be and Jordan Spieth, along with the millions rooting for him, were heartbroken.

"Right now it’s a tough feeling to be that close in a major,” Spieth said. “It doesn’t matter about the historical element of it. Just to be that close on our biggest stage and to come up just short, how many chances do you get? I believe I’ll have plenty of opportunities like I had today. But still, when it doesn’t work out it’s tough to swallow for a little bit.”"

We did however, see a losing Jordan Spieth and it was quite the spectacle. Even with all the pain he was going through, he stuck around and was one of the first guys to congratulate his good buddy Zach Johnson. He showed all class in his defeat and carried himself with dignity. He continues to show the maturity of a wily veteran.

We learned this week at St. Andrews, that even when Spieth loses, he’s still a winner.

More Agony for Dustin Johnson

Jul 20, 2015; St. Andrews, Fife, SCT; Dustin Johnson takes penalty drop at the second hole after driving the ball in a gorse bush during the final round of the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews – Old Course. Mandatory Credit: Ian Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

As if Dustin Johnson didn’t have enough heartbreak at the U.S. Open, he got another serving of it at St. Andrews. DJ was the other big story entering The Open Championship. Would he get revenge for his missed opportunity at Chambers Bay? For a brief moment, it seemed like he would, but then he reached the weekend of a major championship.

Johnson knows how to put together solid rounds in the first two days of majors, but once he hits the weekend he throws it all away. In his last five majors, DJ is -31 in his first two rounds, but +6 when he gets to the last two. Johnson was all over the TV for the first two days at the Old Course, but once we got down to the thick of things, he was no where to be found.

If Dustin ever wants to win a major, he is going to have to find that “clutch factor.” It’s almost as if he becomes too complacent when he has the lead and doesn’t know what to do when the pressure is on. All he knows is how to throw away majors; he simply cannot close them out.

Everyone seemed to go low during the final round of the British Open, everyone except Johnson, who finished with back-to-back 75s to close out his tournament. The heartbreak continues for DJ and we learned this weekend that he cannot win a major and that will continue until he learns to close out these tournaments when it matters.

Sergio Garcia Is Still Cursed

Jul 20, 2015; St. Andrews, Fife, SCT; Sergio Garcia walks up the 16th fairway during the final round of the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews – Old Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve seen it before and I’m sure we will see it again. The epic Sergio Garcia collapse. Garcia put himself in contention during Monday’s final round, that is, until he played himself out of contention.

Sergio popped off on the front nine going out in 32 and had five birdies in his first ten holes to move within one stroke off the lead. Then came the part where Garcia realized how close he was to winning a major and did what he does best.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Sergio Garcia choked. Yes that’s right, Garcia put himself within one shot of the lead and then had back-to-back bogeys on 12, 13, and another on 17 to drop out of contention. Garcia finished tied for sixth for his ninth top-10 finish at an Open Championship.

“Coming in, we all knew it was going to be survival time,” he said. “It was going to be tough to make birdies. It was going to be really, really difficult, and some holes pars were tough.” -Sergio Garcia

Garcia still does not have a major on his resume, but he sure has come close. He’s tied for fourth at the Masters, tied for third at the U.S. Open, and has placed second at both The Open and the PGA Championship multiple times.

In a way, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia are very similar. You could even say DJ is the American version of Garcia. Both guys are stellar tee-to-green, decent with the flat stick, but simply cannot close out major tournaments. We learned that Sergio is still Sergio this week and that he will continue to choke when it matters most.

There was plenty to be learned this week from The 144th Open Championship. The game of golf is a brutal, heartbreaking sport and can be unpredictable at times. With all of the storylines entering Monday, no one really predicted that it would be Zach Johnson holding the Claret Jug. Sometimes the outcome isn’t what we wanted, but that’s what keeps us coming back for more.

Next: The Spieth Slam Comes to a Close at St. Andrews

Home/European tour