Jordan Spieth has quickly set himself a new goal after his magnificent attempt to make history proved valiant Monday in the 144th Open Championship.
The world No2 – who won the Masters and the US Open earlier this year – was trying to win his third major of the year and stay on course for an unprecedented calendar grand slam at next month’s PGA Championship.
A win would have also made him the new world No1, replacing the injured Rory McIlroy.
But Spieth, considered as one of the greatest putters in the game right now, made a four-putt double bogey on the eighth hole.
And then, needing a birdie on the last to join eventual winner Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a four-hole playoff, he pulled his tee shot way left and could not get up-and-down from there.
He eventually finished tied fourth along with Jason Day at 14-under par, missing out on a playoff by a single stroke.
Wow.. Almost. Nothing quite like @TheOpen at St Andrews. We fought hard. Very proud of a role model and friend of mine @ZachJohnsonPGA
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) July 20, 2015
However, Spieth refused to be downcast and quickly looked ahead to targeting more major success at the PGA Championship.
The 21-year-old Texan said “I don’t know how many guys have done three majors in a year. I’m sure there have only been a few. So that would be the next goal as far as the history goes.
“My sights are set on the PGA Championship, and from here I’ve got a couple weeks off now, and I’m going to go home and reflect on this.
“It won’t hurt too bad. It’s not like I really lost it on the last hole, and 17 was brutally challenging.
“I just didn’t hit a great putt there, and I just picked the wrong wedge out of the bag on 18.
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“I made a lot of the right decisions down the stretch and certainly closed plenty of tournaments out, and this just wasn’t one of those. It’s hard to do that every single time – I won’t beat myself up too bad because I do understand that.”
Apart from the four-putt on the eighth hole yesterday, Spieth also made six three-putts during the tournament.
But he placed the blame for his near-miss equally on the eighth and his drive on the 18th.
“I’m very pleased with the way we battled. Today was a really tough day, I just made a mental mistake on No8 and it seemed to have cost me as well as on 18,” he added. “Who would have thought a drive on 18 was going to be what really hurt me at the end there?
“It’s kind of hard to not hit a good one on that hole. I just wish I had given myself a little better opportunity.
Final round. #TheOpen at St Andrews. Spieth ties for the lead with this putt on 16. https://t.co/sTpPo83TCl
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2015
“The eighth was very difficult. It was the hardest rain and the hardest wind at the same time of the day.
“We stepped on that tee box, and you’d like to maybe have a downwind hole where it doesn’t really make that much of a difference. But when you look up from the ball and you’re getting pelted in the face, it’s a hard shot.
“I should not have been aggressive and it’s just a no-brainer. There’s absolutely no reason to hit that putt off the green.
“I could have left it eight feet short and have a dead-straight eight-footer up the hill, which I will make the majority of the time.
“My speed control was really what cost me this week, including the five three-putts in the second round.”
