Chris DiMarco's consolation after finishing second in a major for the third time in less than two years with his runner-up spot should be a place in the United States Ryder Cup team.
After fighting back from a skiing injury, DiMarco was told he had to prove to the US captain that he was in form and Tom Lehman will no doubt be satisfied with the Florida man's rousing finish.
DiMarco twice drew within a stroke of winner and compatriot Tiger Woods over the closing stretch before finishing two shots behind the world No 1 and holder by shooting a four-under-par 68 to total 16-under-par 272.
As well as the $650,000 second prize, DiMarco earned 360 Ryder Cup points to haul himself up to sixth place in the US table, with ten automatic spots up for grabs for the match against Europe in September at the K Club in Ireland.
Two weeks ago at the Ryder Cup venue in County Kildare during the European Open, Lehman said he wanted his "cheerleader" from 2004, who lost part of his season after a spill on the slopes, in the team.
Now, even if DiMarco somehow gets edged out by the time Lehman's top ten qualify, he should get the nod from his captain for a wild card.
"I hope this will get me there (to the K Club) and I'm looking forward to that," said DiMarco after a faultless back nine in which he picked up four birdies and twice saved par from distance with a hot putter.
DiMarco, whose mother died earlier this month, said he had received divine help. "There was a lot of divine intervention out there," he said. "I felt mum was looking down on me. For some reason I played the back side of the course well all week and I made a bunch of putts."
DiMarco's latest second place in a major came after he lost out to Vijay Singh following a three-man play-off for the 2004 US PGA title.
Last year at Augusta, DiMarco took Woods to the brink in the US Masters, before also losing in sudden death. This was DiMarco's finest British Open performance on his seventh appearance. His previous best was tied for 47th in 2001.
