World number one Luke Donald, second-ranked Lee Westwood and Australian star Adam Scott, this year's Masters runner-up, settled for another major near-miss on Sunday at the 93rd PGA Championship.
All three made a charge for the lead in hopes of capturing their first major title but fell short, each shooting a 2-under-par 68 and finishing well back of winner Keegan Bradley, who beat fellow American Jason Dufner in a play-off.
Scott finished seventh on 4-under 276, four strokes out of the play-off, while Donald and Westwood shared eighth on 277.
Each took a bogey on the 18th, finding the water fronting the green while in hopes of closing with a birdie.
Scott, coming in off a World Golf Championships victory last week and a flap involving his new caddie, former Tiger Woods bagman Steve Williams, sees his game as being solid enough to handle a back-nine battle for a major title.
But like his British rivals, he started too far back to make more than a worthy early charge.
Scott began the day five back, one nearer than Donald and Westwood.
"Hung in there well. For me, it's just positive," he said.
"My short game is that good now. It's good enough to hang in there on the last nine of a major to keep a score going.
"Everything is right where I want it to be. Every day I have my opportunities. You need to take them all to win these things.
"I did the best I could. That was a good score."
England's Donald called it another missed opportunity.
"The positive I see is I didn't have my best this week and I still came reasonably close," he said.
"I know I've got the game to compete and win majors, but got to take that it as a positive. Again, bittersweet. It's another major gone, another year gone without winning a major."
Donald took a share of fourth at this year's Masters and a share of third at the 2006 PGA among four top-five major finishes.
He has a chance to win the money titles on the US and European tours, something he will have to satisfy himself with until his next major chance comes around in eight months at the 2012 Masters.
"Certainly a goal. That would be a great accomplishment," Donald said.
"No one has ever done it, and to be the first would be very special."
Westwood has two top-10 finishes in majors for the third year in a row, including a share of third at this year's US Open, runner-up showings at the British Open and Masters last year and shares of third at the 2009 British Open and PGA.
"I have enjoyed playing great for a long time now, but unfortunately when I turn up to majors, when I don't win one, then it's a disappointing week for everybody it seems," he said
"Obviously for me, but that's the sort of level of golf I'm playing at."
Fellow Briton Westwood missed two putts inside six feet in the first five holes but kept battling and stayed in the hunt for a while.
"I played lovely again," he said.
"Didn't miss many greens in regulation, which was tough today, and played very solidly. Missed a couple of short ones early on.
"Everybody is missing on these greens. They are very difficult to read. Hit a lot of good putts out there that didn't go in."
AFP
Tags: golf, sport, united-states First posted August 15, 2011 11:04:36
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