Tiger Woods blamed mental errors for failing to land a fourth US Open title on a dramatic final day.
American's US Open challenge fails to materialise on final day
World number one Tiger Woods blamed mental errors for his failure to win a fourth US Open title after finishing three behind Graeme McDowell at Pebble Beach.
Woods, playing in just his second major since a five-month absence from golf prompted by revelations about his private life, fired a magnificent 66 in the third round and started the final day five back of leader Dustin Johnson.
On Sunday, however, he could not maintain the brilliance of the previous night, when he had scorched through the back nine with five birdies.
A missed short par putt at the first set the tone and despite flashes of brilliance, including an excellent second shot at the third to save par from thick rough in a wooded hollow and a bunker shot at 14 to within inches of the hole for a tap-in birdie, six bogeys consigned Woods to a 75 and a three-over-par finish in a tie for fourth with his great rival Phil Mickelson.
Asked what positives he could take from the final round, he told
NBC: "Not a whole lot.
"I was telling (caddie) Steve (Williams) we made three mental mistakes today. The only thing it cost us was the chance to win the US Open."
Woods, who had parted company with swing coach Hank Haney following the Masters, did admit that his overall play at Pebble Beach this week had given him plenty of encouragement for the future.
"I feel like I can play now," he said. "I can I get a feel for my game, the shape of my shots, what I'm working on, and the two major championships I finished I had a chance to win both of them. So it's not too bad.
"I feel like I put some pieces together this week. It's a process. It's a long process, but I've put some of it together, and I hit some shots this week that I haven't hit in a long time."
Mickelson denied again
Masters champion Mickelson, a five-time US Open runner-up, was able to look on the bright side of his tie for fourth, a one-birdie, three-bogey round giving him a second consecutive 73 having shot a 66 on Friday.
"I wanted to win, I'm glad that it wasn't a second," Mickelson joked.
"Obviously I wanted to win. For me just to have that opportunity throughout the whole round - and I knew early on again when Dustin (triple-bogeyed) the second hole it was a wide open tournament - I was within three shots of the lead and having that opportunity to win is what's so fun.
"It's what's so exciting as a professional golfer, and I knew the entire round pretty much that if I could make some birdies or shoot under par, that I might be able to do it."
