ASKED last night how it felt to be handing over the Claret Jug he had won in each of the previous two years, Tiger Woods was not about to go all deep and meaningful on us. "I will not be able to put my beverage of choice in it," he said, although it is safe to assume that he wanted more from the 136th Open Championship than a drinking implement.

He has just one major trophy left in which to drown his sorrows, and that will be up for grabs at next month's PGA Championship in Tulsa. Never mind his failure to become the first player since the 1950s to win three straight Opens, Carnoustie handed him his third straight failure in a major.

Woods, of course, sets the highest of standards, and is judged by more stringent criteria than any of his rivals. A reminder that he tied for second at both the Masters and the US Open should be enough to quell any talk of a crisis, while it is his own domination of the game that has caused many to forget its unique vagaries.

But, after comfortable wins in the last two majors of 2006, few would have been reckless enough to predict that he would fail to win any of this year's four, which is what will happen if he is beaten at Southern Hills next month. It would be the first time since 2004 that the world No 1 has drawn a blank.

His two-under-par total at the Open, after rounds of 69, 74, 69 and 70, was the result of a generally ragged display between tee and green. "It would have been nice if I could just have hit the ball a little better, and just given myself a chance. I feel like I putted beautifully all week, but I couldn't get close enough. When I did, I made them. I wasn't consistently hitting the ball close enough to make birdies, and consequently I was on the periphery of the championship."

If Woods has a weakness, that is it. While there was talk of a shoulder injury this week, and he had the imminent birth of his daughter distracting him at Oakmont, the trend towards bigger, tougher and tighter venues for the major championships makes it increasingly likely that his bouts of wayward driving will be punished. He says that he prefers grinding battles against par, but most of his wins are in low-scoring majors. For the time being, at least.