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LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | For never shooting over par in four rounds at a U.S. Open, Louis Oosthuizen deserves more than a second leg on another “Silver Slam,” but the South African’s fate was sealed more by what Jon Rahm did and less by what he didn’t do.
“I played good. Just fell a little short again,” said Oosthuizen after finishing runner-up by a stroke in his second consecutive major and sixth overall since winning the Open Championship in 2010. “It was Jon played a great round of golf – 4 under today on that golf course is a really good score.
“I could see early on what was happening with the leaderboard at the end and knew that I needed to push at the end to do something. Errant tee shot on 17 just cost me, but all in all, I thought that I fought really well to stay in it and just fell short again.”
Oosthuizen had the highest pedigree of the trio that shared the 54-hole lead at Torrey Pines, and he looked dressed for the part of U.S. Open champion when he opened a two-shot lead after a birdie on No. 10. But he bogeyed from the greenside bunker on the stern par-3 11th and maintained a slim lead thanks to par saves on 13 and 14 until Rahm rammed in curling birdie putts of 24 and 18 feet on the last two holes to seize the lead four holes ahead of Oosthuizen.
On the par-4 17th, Oosthuizen pulled his drive into the hazard and after a penalty stroke missed a 10-footer for par. Needing eagle on the easiest 18th hole in major championship history to force a playoff, he drove into the rough and couldn’t hole his wedge after laying up.
“(No.) 17 was the key hole – drive that in the fairway, and I've got sand wedge into that pin, which would probably give me hopefully inside a 10-foot putt for birdie,” Oosthuizen said. “Obviously, 18, you can lay up there and go for it, whatever decision you want to do. But I pulled it by 5 yards, that tee shot.”
Oosthuizen left Torrey Pines disappointed but not disheartened by another near miss.
“Right now I didn't win it. I'm second again,” he said. “No, look, it's frustrating. It's disappointing. I'm playing good golf, but … winning a major championship is not just going to happen, you need to go out and play good golf. I played good today, but I didn't play good enough.
“I took the tee shot on at 17, and I knew it was a crucial hole for me to take it on and give myself a birdie opportunity. I didn't pull it off, but standing on that tee again, I'll probably do the same thing, taking a driver and taking the shot on. I feel like I had my shots, I went for it, and that's what you have to do to win majors. Sometimes it goes your way, and other times it doesn't.”
Scott Michaux