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Tiger Woods marked his return to The Open with a final score of five under. Woods also held the lead throughout the final day but could not hold on

Tiger Woods admitted he was "ticked off" at missing out on a golden chance to end his 10-year wait for a 15th major title on the final day of The Open.

Woods set the pulses racing among the record crowds at Carnoustie when, after starting the day four shots off the pace, he held the outright lead after turning in 34 as Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele made a series of big mistakes on the outward nine.

Tiger Woods held the outright lead at the turn

But his challenge was derailed at the 11th, where his errant drive found the rough and he pulled an ambitious second into the gallery to the left of the green, and he was apologetic as he handed over a signed glove to a bruised spectator.

He then fluffed his first chip which came within inches of finding a bunker, and he then putted six feet beyond the hole before missing the return to walk to the next tee with a six on his card.

Woods leaked another shot at the tough 12th and, although he got back to within a shot of the lead with a birdie at 14, he could only par in from there for a 71 which left him three behind champion Francesco Molinari.

Tiger Woods held the outright lead at the turn

"I'm a little ticked off at myself for sure," said Woods, whose third-round 66 was his lowest score in The Open since he raised the Claret Jug for the third time at Hoylake in 2006.

"I had a chance starting that back nine to do something, and I didn't do it. I thought nine under would be the number, there were three guys at nine and I thought one of them would shoot even par. I thought it was tough out there, but I figured I needed to go get that number.

"Next thing, lo and behold, I'm tied for the lead, and then I'm leading it! Unfortunately, I hit a bad three-iron off the tee there at 11, and then the grass grabbed my shaft again and hit it left. I made a couple mistakes around the green there. And it was same thing at 12. The grass grabbed the shaft and turned it open and I made bogey there."

Woods dropped three shots in two holes at 11 and 12

But as he reflected on his overall performance, Woods was happy he gave himself a shot at the title in his first Open appearance for three years following a series of back problems.

"I did everything the way I thought I needed to do it to win the championship," he added. "This entire week, I felt like I needed to keep building my way into this championship. It's one of those where it was going to be 10 or 12 guys with a chance to win it on Sunday because we're all driving the same areas.

"And it kind of turned out that way. There are a bunch of guys packed, a bunch of guys with a chance to win, and I was one of them. it was a blast, and I was saying earlier that I need to try and keep it in perspective.

Woods bounced back at 14 but had to settle for a share of sixth

"At the beginning of the year, if they'd have said 'you're playing The Open Championship', I would have said I'd be very lucky to do that."

Woods also paid a glowing tribute to his playing-partner Molinari, who was the only player to keep a bogey off his card in the testing conditions of the final day as he fired an impressive 69 to win by two shots.

"Francesco played really solidly today," Woods added. "Winning it was down to his short-game, he chipped it beautifully. I know he made a couple of putts here and there for par, but to get it to where it was basically kick-in from some of the spots he put himself, that was impressive. Great touch.

Woods was impressed by Molinari's short-game

"You could see him actually try and hit a couple with cut spin, a couple of draw spin. You know, he was working the ball around the greens, and that was cool to see."