Love regrets poor start to final round

Davis Love III was left to reflect on a missed opportunity after finishing tied for fourth place in the British Open on Sunday.

The experienced American began the final round one shot behind leader Thomas Bjorn, but a third straight 72 was not good enough to earn him a second major championship as his young compatriot Ben Curtis took the spoils.

"I didn't start very well at all and I got myself so far behind I didn't have a chance," he told reporters. "Things came crashing back to us like it always seems to happen and I just didn't have quite enough.

The 39-year-old Love, who has three victories to his name this year, dropped three shots on the front nine before battling back to one over par, and it was another poor start to his round that cost him dear.

"I started off like that every day, just not hitting enough good shots" he said. "Maybe I wasn't aggressive enough. I played good in the middle of the round but I got a couple of bad bounces on the last 10 holes."

Love said Vijay Singh and Thomas Bjorn, who finished tied for second, and Tiger Woods, who shared fourth spot, were all in the same boat.

"Thomas, Tiger and Vijay are all saying the same as me," he said. "Ben (Curtis) played very well but the rest of us didn't play good enough to get enough good bounces."

Love, the 1997 U.S. PGA champion, thought the Royal St George's course had provided a massive challenge.

"It was a tough test, very, very tough," he said. "It seems like our Majors are bordering on the edge of unfair all the time. You see a lot of funny bounces and that's what's frustrating. Sometimes it's out of your control."

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