Louis Oosthuizen cannot wait to return to St Andrews after narrowly missing out on a second Open Championship title at the Home of Golf.
A closing round of 69 saw the South African, who held a share of the overnight lead, cast into a play-off with Zach Johnson and Marc Leishman after the trio tied on 15 under.
Oosthuizen, who won by seven shots over the Old Course in 2010, missed crucial putts from inside ten feet on the 17th and 18th in the four-hole aggregate play-off as Johnson pipped him to the Claret Jug by a single shot.
That was the 32 year old’s second consecutive runner-up finish in Majors having pushed Jordan Spieth close at Chambers Bay, and his second play-off heartache after being denied by Bubba Watson at the 2012 Masters Tournament.
“I think I did really well getting in the play-off,” said Oosthuizen.
“I had four three-putts today, but it was quite lengthy ones to start off, and I putted beautifully the whole week. I made good putts today. I made great putts coming in to be in the play-off, and misread 17 and 18.
“I had two good putts there exactly where I wanted to, so there's not much more that I could have done on that.
“It's never nice to lose a play-off. I've had the experience in 2012 at Augusta. I'll take a lot out of this week. I was really motivated to win this Championship this week.
“I love this place. I've said it a thousand times. I can't wait for it to come back here again."
