Jason Day and Sergio Garcia have made it a habit to contend in the majors and big events over the weekend, before falling short when in sight of the finishing line.
The 144th Open Championship proved no different. World No9 Day, who started the final round tied for the lead at 12-under par along side amateur Paul Dunne and Louis Oosthuizen, played a solid round but just couldn’t find that one last birdie that would have given him a place in the play-off.
It was a remarkable effort from the 28-year-old Australian, who had collapsed on the course last month midway through the US Open, but all he could gain was a ninth top-10 finish in a short span of 21 majors played.
Jason Day has finished inside the Top-10 in 9 of 20 major appearances. #MadeforMajors pic.twitter.com/zFQ8LWaT0j
— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) July 21, 2015
Garcia, considered by many as the best player on the Tour never to have won a major, once again looked good to end his drought. The Spanish world No10 surged to 14-under par and a share of the lead, but the tough conditions on the back nine took its toll on him and he came in dropping three shots on the way to finish tied-sixth at 11-under par.
It was Garcia’s ninth top-10 finish in the Open Championship, having finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy last year at Royal Liverpool.
Disappointment was written all over Day’s face after a 20-footer birdie putt on the final hole stopped inches short while on a perfect line. He refused to blame the R&A for making them play for 32 manic minutes on Saturday morning during the second round, in which time he made back-to-back bogies.
When asked about the incident, Day said: “You really can’t look at it that way. As soon as you look at things in a negative light you are going to go backwards so I have to keep looking at the positives.
“I missed a couple of birdies. I made some other errors. But I gave myself chances out there. On a couple of holes I would have liked some shots back, but that’s just part and parcel of playing.
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“I’ve been working very hard to try and win my first major, and you know, it is a little frustrating with how it finished. But I’ve been in contention at majors a lot now, and it just shows I’m doing the right things, and I can’t look at it as a negative.
“It’ll soon come my way. I’ve just got to be patient with it.”
Regardless of his finish, the 35-year-old Garcia still managed to maintain his smile after the two-under par 70 round.
“I would have loved to finish a couple better, but I’m still happy with the week. I love this tournament, I love these crowds, I love these courses,” said Garcia.
“I started really well. Obviously the front nine was the one to go after, and up until 10, it was tricky with so much wind, but a little bit easier. But coming in, we all knew it was going to be survival time. It was going to be tough to make birdies.
“In fact, on some holes, even pars were tough. But really, I feel like a lot of things had to go my way for me to finish 15 or 16-under.
“I’m just going to keep giving myself chances until things happen and then hopefully I manage to win at least one of these.
“I would love to win a British Open but even if I don’t, the experiences I’ve had at these championships, they’ve been amazing, and nobody can take that away from me.”
Both players are expected to tee up next at the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational, which is played in Akron a week before the PGA Championship.
