Playing in the final flight, Whiteford had watched all the drama unfold on 17 and 18. After setting himself up with a delightful chip to four feet at the last, the 32-year-old Scot was unable to convert and will continue to bid for a first European Tour victory to add to his three Challenge Tour wins.
"Guys like me don't get many chances to win tournaments, and whatever it was, four or five feet, I hit a decent putt and didn't go in," Whiteford said. "But to be fair, at least we got beat by a three on the last and didn't throw it away. Brett deserves it in the playoff there."
Oosthuizen birdied his last two holes for a closing 69 to match his opening-round score on his Ballantine’s Championship debut. Although disappointed with his form on the undulating greens, the South African’s performance will be remembered for a stunning six-under front nine on Thursday, featuring birdies in his first four holes.
"I'm going to take a lot of positives out of it. I probably haven't hit the ball this good in a while. After my first nine, my first round, I struggled on the greens and couldn't really make anything," said the 2010 Open Champion.
"Today, I just wanted to get a good number in there to at least put my name up on the leaderboard. I had two bad tee shots on 13 and that hole cost me fiveover for the last two days. A bit unfortunate about that hole, but all in all, it has been a very positive week."
Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, a five-time European Tour winner, equalled the course record of 65 to share sixth on seven-under with Korean Kim Hyung-sung (67), Scot Stephen Gallacher (68), Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal (73) and Sweden’s Alex Noren (74), the third-round leader.
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