Tiger ends defence with 20th place finish

Tiger Woods went to the first tee Sunday with a "good, solid number" in mind.

Something like a 61 or 62, he said without blinking an eye. Woods did allow, though, that "the moons and stars would have to line up perfectly" for him to post what would be a major championship record.

The celestial beings didn't cooperate, and neither did Woods' golf game. He failed to break par for the second straight day at the U.S. Open, shooting 72, and his title defense ended with a whimper.

So come Monday, the game's No. 1 player will have gone a year without winning a major championship. He has won 37 times in his career, though, including three already this year, so it's hardly time to be talking about slumps.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Tiger Woods not winning a major for a year," Tom Watson said. "How many years did Jack Nicklaus go without winning a major?"

For the record, when Nicklaus was in his prime, the Golden Bear went three years without winning a major on two occasions. Woods, who has two more chances this year, doesn't want to wait that long.

"That's my ultimate goal," said Woods, who has won eight majors and was bidding for his third U.S. Open in four years. "These are the biggest championships. All you can do is give it your best. I gave it my best this week. I was close to putting it together but didn't."

Woods' couldn't because his putter let him down. He only hit 68.1 percent of the greens, and he didn't hit the ball particularly close when he did. He put the pressure on his flat stick, and as a result averaged 31.1 putts for the week.

"I had a tough time getting the speed right," Woods said. "The putts uphill are so slow, the putts downhill are extremely quick. It's tough to try and gauge when you're putting across slopes and stuff like that.

"I never hit it close where I had a lot of makeable putts. That's one of the reasons I couldn't get it going because I never hit it close enough."

Woods said he was "bummed out" that he never got in contention but he was philosophical. "Anyone who plays the game of golf knows it's not easy and it's very fickle," he said.

Woods said he still plans to play in the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club this week. The Buick Classic is the only tournament he's played more than once without a top-10 finish.

"It's awfully tough because you are awfully tired and more emotionally spent," said Woods, who has an endorsement deal with Buick. "Physically you're fine but emotionally (you're) a little tired."