Back nine costs Tiger once again

Terrible bounces, stiff winds, capricious fairways and a less than red-hot putter all played their part in ruining Tiger Woods's hopes of a second British Open title on Sunday.

But at the end of four rounds of wildly fluctuating fortunes it was simply a man in better form who finally scuppered the world number one's chances of a ninth major title.

The 27-year-old finished on one-over 285, two shots behind 300-1 outsider Ben Curtis and in an unaccustomed role as bridesmaid in joint fourth place behind a player 396 berths adrift of him in the world rankings when the week started.

The 2000 Open winner at St Andrews has still to win a major with a final day charge from the field. His eight victories all came when he led after the third round and he knew a level par 71 here after starting two in arrears would never be enough.

The world number one's anticipated Sunday birdie onslaught did not materialise and his fourth and final bogey at the 17th when he misjudged his approach in the wind and left it short summed up his day -- a mixture of magnificence and mediocrity.

He fired a perfect drive, then played a poor mid-iron second, chipped skilfully over the undulating green to seven feet or so and then failed with his putter.

Similarly, a slight miscalculation at the 15th, where his approach ran through the back of the green, cost him another bogey after a missed five-foot putt on eight and a drive into rough on the 10th had earlier stopped him in his tracks.

Woods's round was not short of highlights, though, with his extra power setting up birdies at all three par fives plus another at the fifth where a 10-footer was converted for a three.

Along the way a string of chances from around the 15-foot mark went begging and he was never able to put the full Woods heat on the leaders.

Afterwards, he talked philosophically of missed chances and terrible -- as well as lucky -- breaks in a championship that had started in high winds and rain on Thursday with a lost ball from his opening drive and a triple-bogey seven.

"The putts I needed to keep the momentum going or to start some momentum just didn't fall," he told the BBC.

"But that's golf. I got some terrible bounces and also got some great bounces too so it all evens out at the end.

"Ben's win is pretty remarkable because generally you don't find a person playing in his first Open championship being not only able to contend but to win in the end.

"It just goes to show that anybody who is playing well can win any tournament in the world."

Woods has now gone five majors without winning. For most players, the statistic would hardly be worth mentioning such is the difficulty in attaining even one.

But because of the standards the American has set since collecting his first in the U.S. Masters of 1997, the run can almost be described as a "major drought".

Sandwich at least proved to him after disappointing finishes at Augusta and the U.S. Open this year that he is only a tweak or two away from adding to his remarkable tally.

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