by Our Sports Desk

ZACH JOHNSON proved himself wrong after he claimed his second major title with a dramatic victory in the Open Championship at St Andrews on Monday evening.

At the start of the year, Johnson gave a press conference as defending champion at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and was asked to name the three tournaments he was most looking forward to in 2015.

Johnson immediately thought of the year’s four majors and, discounting the one constant venue of Augusta National — where he won the Masters in 2007 — the 39-year-old summed up his chances.

“No, no and no,” he joked.

“The British? No, no. That’s my least favourite in the rotation. I say that and I love that tournament and I still like St Andrews. That’s how much I love that tournament. I think St Andrews is terrific and it’s my least favourite.”

Yet any of the fans who endured rain and wind delays and were able to make it to St Andrews for just the second Monday finish in Open history would have been hard pressed to realise the Old Course was not Johnson’s favourite.

An opening round of 66 left him one shot behind his namesake Dustin Johnson and a 71 on Friday meant he was three adrift of the same player when the second round was eventually completed on Saturday.

Johnson’s third round 70 meant he entered the final round three off the pace and under the radar once more.

“I guess that radar is going bonkers right now,” Johnson joked after a closing 66, including a vital birdie on the 18th for the fourth round in succession, took him into a play-off with 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen and Australia’s Marc Leishman.

And birdies on the first two holes of the aggregate play-off gave him enough of a cushion to survive a bogey on the 17th and make his first par of the championship on the 18th to secure the Claret Jug.