Can Woods Go Three for Four?

How about three out of four? Tiger Woods may have missed his chance at the 2005 Grand Slam when he was second at the U.S. Open after bogeying the 16th and 17th in the last round, but now he has two of the year’s major titles, the Masters and the British Open, with the PGA Championship next, Aug. 11-14 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

Woods, with 10 major titles, can catch Walter Hagen with a victory at the PGA. Jack Nicklaus, who said goodbye to major championship golf here this weekend, is the leader with 18.

Woods’ victory at the Old Course coincides nicely with farewells in majors by Nicklaus. When Nicklaus played his last PGA Championship at Valhalla in 1999, Woods won. When Nicklaus played his last U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2000, Woods won. And if Nicklaus did indeed play his last Masters in April, Woods won that one, too.

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At 45, Fred Couples knows something about playing the British Open.

His 68 Sunday put him in a tie for third at eight-under 280 -- his ninth top 10 in 16 Open appearances.

“I had a great day,” he said. “It’s so much fun to play St. Andrews. It’s a unique spot. I knew I would play well this week, but standing here, my feet are ready to break off.”

Couples tied for 39th at the Masters and tied for 15th at the U.S. Open.

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He came in as a dark-horse favorite at the British Open, so it wasn’t supposed to end this way for Luke Donald -- five under after the first round and five over the next three. Donald’s middle rounds, 73 on Friday and 77 on Saturday, left him disappointed and out of the running, in a tie for 52nd at even-par 288.

Donald, who played in the same group as Nicklaus and Tom Watson the first two days, said that pairing might have had an effect on him.

“It might have affected my energy levels a little bit,” he said. “To be subjected to that much emotion, all the crowd’s energy, might have taken me out of it a little bit. But I should be strong enough to not let that affect me.

“I just wasn’t mentally very strong out there.”

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Graeme McDowell, a 25-year-old European Tour pro from Northern Ireland, shot a 31 on the back side and finished with a 67. That was good enough for a tie for 11th and just enough to make him forget the quadruple-bogey eight he made at the 17th hole in Saturday’s third round.

“A couple of pints of Guinness last night soon took the pain away,” he said.

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Phil Mickelson’s semi-slide continued, as he wound up a disappointing British Open with a four-over 76 and a tie for 60th at one-over 289 in a group that included 24-year-old Italian amateur Edoardo Molinari, who was playing his second professional tournament.

Mickelson won the Bob Hope in January, Pebble Beach in February and the Bell South the first week of April, was 10th at the Masters and, in May, seventh at the Wachovia, and since then has been headed downhill.

He tied for 14th at the Nelson, tied for 26th at the Colonial, tied for 29th at the Booz Allen and tied for 33rd at the U.S. Open.

Mickelson was all over the place at the Old Course, with rounds of 74, 67, 72 and 76, not reminiscent at all of his steady, third-place finish a year ago at Troon, his best in a British Open.

Also missing among the so-called Big Five was Ernie Els, who tied for 34th at two-under 286, unable to overcome a first-round 74 and a third-round 75.