In his approach to the 18th green, Ernie Els needed a single stroke to induce a playoff with Adam Scott who, although not having a comfortable lead, was still in the lead.
Ernie Els birdied the 18th hole using a joyous fist pump as an exclamation point, probably thinking, at least at this point, that he had a chance at a playoff with Adam Scott.
Ernie Els spreads the good word about his amazing birdie putt on the 18th green while waiting patiently for Adam Scott. I noticed Ernie looking a bit anxious, perhaps wondering if he should practice or nosh on a sandwich; he wound up doing both. 
Adam Scott, in the meantime, was walking up the 17th with caddy Steve Williams. Did Steve do everything he needed to as Adam's caddy to help Scott in his time of need?
With not a breath in the air, fans watched as Adam's Scott's chances of winning The Open Championship faded.
This picture of Adam Scott, in my opinion, caputred the agony of defeat. So taken with the sad ending to this tale was SportsBettingOnline which sent out a press release announcing that management was refunding all players who lost money betting on Adam Scott.
"With so many of the favorites including Woods not cashing, it was a good day for sportsbooks. But that wasn’t the case for those who dropped money on Scott,” stated Dave Johnson, head oddsmaker for SportsBettingOnline.ag. “We feel it’s our duty to refund the players for taking such a bad beat. His collapse was historic and we know the bettors who had him must feel as awful as he does.”
And so the final tally had a reserved Ernie Els taking rightful ownership of the Claret Jug as Adam Scott shook his head in disbelief stating, "I let a great chance slip through my fingers today, and I know it."
PS: The title of this golf blog is dedicated to Sally Ride, the first U.S. Woman to travel into Space. Although Ms. Ride never moon walked, she forever "changed the face of America's space program."
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photo credits: WABCTV
