Nick Faldo’s encouraging US Open finished on a high after he holed a slippery, downhill 30 yard par putt for a level-par 71 to end his campaign at six-over par.
In the end, the Englishman was 18 shots behind runaway leader Tiger Woods.
His best finish in a Major since 1996.
The championship marked a welcome return to form for Faldo amongst the world’s best and he started with two birdies in the first four holes to move to four over par. However, Faldo was halted in his tracks as he double-bogeyed the eighth.
Faldo said: “I’m delighted. I had a good battle. As you know, I haven’t been in this position for a long time. Playing to these small greens, it was scary. I’ve had to change things but I’m glad I handled the Open pressure.
“I played as I wanted to but I was learning all the time. Now, I’m going to have a nice rest and then practice hard for St Andrews.
“Confidence is a major part of anyone’s game. I hit a lot of good shots and finally hit the fifth green. Do you get a prize for that? I performed well under pressure.”
Lee Westwood, who finished up at five-over par, summed up the historical nature of the day when he said: "I never expected to see anybody ever 12 under par in this event.
"He has something special - it was a bit of a parade. I thought they (the United States Golf Association) would do their best to make sure it would not happen.
"I think they want level par to be the winning score every year. And it would have been for everyone else."
