Another runner-up at the majors vexes Tiger

OAKMONT, Pa. -- No need to spell it out. Tiger Woods is acutely aware of his increasingly odd pedigree and doing all that he can to tweak it.

Tiger Woods shot 2-over 72 on Sunday. (Getty Images)

Woods, it shall be pointed out ad nauseum, has never won a major championship except when he had begun the final round with a share of the lead. Twice this year, seeking to end that statistical curiosity, he has surged into a share of the lead on Sunday and failed to hoist a trophy at the end of the day.

It's only added fuel to the frustration -- first at the Masters, where he finished second, then again Sunday at the 107th U.S. Open, where he finished 6 over and was the runner-up to Angel Cabrera by a stroke.

Woods started the final round at Oakmont Country Club two shots off the lead and moved into a tie for first on the opening hole. Right about then, as they had two months earlier, most of the sporting public figured the end result was a foregone conclusion. Yet Woods, who shot 2-over 72, couldn't get it done.

"It's not like they're handing out the trophy on the first green," he said.

Once again, the Open proved that while Woods seems unbeatable most of the time, there is a big difference between "game on" and "game over." After six different players wobbled in and out of the lead early, the back stretch was a war of attrition between Cabrera, Woods and Jim Furyk, who finished in a tie with Woods for second. While Furyk managed three consecutive birdies beginning at No. 13, Woods was dogpaddling like mad just to stay within reach.

His best chance at a birdie on the back nine came at the par-3 13th, when he dropped the ball within four feet of the flag. As he had most of the week, Woods couldn't convert the putt, and over the rest of the round couldn't muster a birdie effort from closer than 25 feet.

Poll How surprised were you that Tiger Woods wasn't able to pull out the win?   14%  Shocked     50%  A bit surprised     36%  Not surprised at all     Total Votes: 8282

Knowing he needed a birdie on one of the last four holes to catch Cabrera, who was on the way to the clubhouse to watch Woods and Furyk scrape their way around, Woods hit an awful wedge shot on the 14th that rolled 30 feet from the flag.

"I absolutely killed it and it went way long," he said.

Worse, he was forced to one-putt Nos. 14-16 just to salvage par. He tried to reach the short 17th, a 313-yard par-4, with a 3-wood, but found a bunker and couldn't keep his sand shot on the green. It represented his last realistic chance at a birdie, given that the 18th was murdering players all week long. Woods managed to find the final green, no small feat Sunday, but a 25-foot attempt missed 18 inches wide of the hole and Woods finished second for the second time this year at a major.

"Finishing second is never fun," he said. "You play so hard, it's just disappointing. My last four majors, I've gone 1-1-2-2, which isn't terrible, but could have been a little bit better."

Actually, he's three strokes shy of being in two playoffs and fighting it out for four Grand Slam titles in succession. But all anybody will remember, at least for now, is that in majors when he hasn't held the 54-hole lead, he's 0-for-29. With the third-round lead, he's 12-for-12.

Yeah, he can't explain it, either.

"I haven't gotten it done," he said. "I have put myself there and haven't gotten it done."