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 In an Open that never seemed to want to end, the 39-year-old surged
through the field with a closing 66 before overcoming South African
Louis Oosthuizen (69) and Australian Marc Leishman (66) in extra
holes.
"I feel blessed to be the champion and honored to be part of the
history of this game," said Johnson after a round played in a damp
and heavy atmosphere but, more importantly for the players, in light
winds.
"It has been a week of patience, courage and trust. I can't play any
better than I did. I just stayed in it, waited for the opportunities
and made a few putts."
Johnson, who won the U.S. Masters in 2007, took a vice-like grip on
the playoff by ramming in birdie putts of 12 and 18 feet at the
first two holes and could afford the luxury of taking a bogey at the
17th before a par four at the last sealed victory.
Oosthuizen, the winner of the Open when it was last played at St
Andrews in 2010, was level par for the extra holes while Leishman
effectively played himself out of it when he three-putted the first.
He ended two over.
Johnson wiped tears from his eyes before hugging his wife as he
walked off the 18th green to pick up the coveted Claret Jug and a
first prize of 1.15 million pounds ($1.79 million).
One of the first to congratulate Johnson was fellow American Jordan
Spieth who failed to make the playoff by one stroke after a day of
fluctuating fortunes.
Spieth, 21, bidding to become the first player since compatriot Ben
Hogan in 1953 to land the opening three majors of the year, finished
with a three-under 69 for 274, 14 under.
Johnson, Leishman and Oosthuizen ended the regulation 72 holes on 15
under.
DUNNE SLUMP
Irish amateur Paul Dunne, who went into the final round of golf's
oldest major in a tie for the lead, slumped to a closing 78 and
ended in a share of 30th position on 282.
Earlier, Johnson came sprinting out of the blocks with a
swashbuckling run of seven birdies in the opening 12 holes.
He dropped strokes at the 13th and 17th, completely mis-hitting his
second shot at the notorious 'Road Hole' after his feet slipped in
the wet rough.
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Johnson bounced straight back by gently caressing a 35-foot birdie
putt into the cup on the 72nd green, letting out a roar of delight
as the ball disappeared into the hole before squatting down and
producing a theatrical fist pump.
Leishman then missed a 20-foot birdie putt at the 18th that would
have given him outright victory but had the consolation of knowing
his last two rounds of 64 and 66 tied the record Open low for the
closing 36 holes.
Oosthuizen appeared to be out of contention until he grittily holed
a 15-foot par-saving effort at the 17th and chipped to four feet at
the 18th before rolling in his birdie putt to join Johnson and
Leishman in the playoff.
Spieth's chances were effectively wrecked when he took four putts
from 100 feet to double-bogey the eighth and he eventually had to
settle for a share of fourth place with Australian Jason Day (70).
"I made a mental mistake," said Spieth. "If you make a double-bogey
it's a very difficult climb back.
"I hit my first putt off the green and there's absolutely no reason
to do that."
American Jordan Niebrugge went round in 70 to finish as the leading
amateur, in a tie for sixth spot on 277 with British pair Justin
Rose and Danny Willett and Spain's Sergio Garcia.
It was only the second time the championship had finished on a
Monday after heavy rain and strong winds caused havoc earlier in the
tournament.
($1 = 0.6425 pounds)
(Editing by Justin Palmer)
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