In terms of sporting near-misses, there’s close, there’s super close, there’s “HOLY SHIT THAT NOT GOING IN LITERALLY DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS”…
…and then there’s this.
Despite a masterful approach shot to the 18th hole green at the Chambers Bay course in Washington State – a course heavily criticised for its toughness throughout the tournament – US pro Dustin Johnson first missed a tricky 12 foot Eagle putt, and then a much shorter attempt for Birdie, to see the US Open literally slip through his fingers, handing 21 year-old Jordan Spieth the championship, and his second major in succession.
In a see-sawing final two holes, Spieth first gave up a two shot tournament lead on the 17th hole with an almost-disastrous double bogey, but a similarly magnificent approach shot on 18, followed by a cooler putting head put him one shot ahead of Johnson before he stepped up to putt.
The tournament-winning attempt sailed wide, leaving him a knee-trembling Birdie attempt that would’ve sent the Open into a playoff. But that too missed by an agonisingly small amount, leaving Johnson at 4 under par for the tournament, and handing the title to Spieth – one shot ahead at 5 under.
[Editor’s Note: Video has since been deleted]
Shit really doesn’t get much closer than that. That hurts.
Australian pair Adam Scott and Cameron Smith finished in a tie for fourth on 3 under, along with South African Branden Grace – Scott shot a blistering last round of 6 under 64 to vault up the leaderboard, whilst Smith rounded his tournament out with a 2 under 68.
Photo: David Cannon via Getty Images.
via Uproxx.
