Jordan Spieth's spirited bid for a Grand Slam was stopped Monday by Zach Johnson, who is no longer just a normal guy from Iowa.
Not with a claret jug to go with that green jacket.
Johnson captured his second major — this one at the home of golf — winning the British Open in a playoff over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman that capped off five wild days at St. Andrews and a suspense-filled final round.
Most eyes were on 21-year-old Spieth of Dallas. No one ever came closer to the third leg of the Grand Slam.
Spieth fought back from taking four putts for a double bogey on No. 8 with back-to-back birdies. He rolled in a 50-foot birdie putt for a share of the lead with two holes to play. After missing an 8-foot par putt on the 17th hole, he needed a birdie on the closing hole to join the playoff.
"Up and down for a playoff," was the last thing Spieth said to caddie Michael Greller from about 90 yards away. It was too far right and rolled to the edge of the Valley of Sin short of the green, and his birdie attempt up the slope stayed inches left of the cup.
"We gave it a great effort," Spieth said.
He joined Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — the three biggest names in golf over the last half-century — as the only players to capture the Masters and U.S. Open, only to come up short in a quest for the holy grail in golf — all four professional majors in the same year.
