It took just one bad shot on Sunday to prevent the solid Branden Grace from winning what would have been his maiden major title.
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The South African was matching eventual champion Jordan Spieth shot for shot for the first 15 holes, but smashed his tee shot way right and near the train tracks on the short par-4 16th hole.
The resulting double bogey from the out-of-bound shot saw Grace finish two shots behind Spieth, and in tied fourth place with Australian duo of Adam Scott, who closed with a tournament best round of 64, and Cameron Smith.
And Grace said: “I gave myself the opportunity to actually have a chance to win it, and just one bad swing cost me at the end. “It was a straightforward shot, just spun out of it and that’s costly.
“It’s a pity it came down to this. If I didn’t win, I would have liked to have finished second or something around there. Like I said, I really didn’t do a lot wrong. The swing kept up, just one bad swing that cost me.”
This was not a good shot (via @WillBrinson) http://t.co/zkbHH11bfm https://t.co/g5POJDl4EV
— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 22, 2015
Grace shot a 71 in the final round, and the finish not only secured him a spot at next year’s Masters and the US Open, but also enough FedEx Cup points to earn a special temporary membership on the PGA Tour.
“I think I have pretty much secured my card next year in the States, which is a bonus for me. That is the main thing I wanted to do,” he admitted.
Scott, who was playing with his old caddie Steve Williams back on the bag, said: “It was a big effort for me today. To be honest, it’s the kind of round I needed to get things going for me this year, hopefully.”
