British Open Results 2012: Highlighting the Top American Performances

Two American golfers finished near the top in this year's British Open leaderboard, but South African golfer Ernie Els claimed the ultimate crown.

That doesn't take away from the admirable effort of Brandt Snedeker for three rounds, or the seismic collapse by Tiger Woods early in Round 4 on Sunday. American players are littered throughout the tournament's Top 10.

Let's take a look at the top American finishers in this tournament across the Pond.

Tiger Woods

Woods' hopes were dashed with his triple-bogey on the sixth hole on Sunday. He was five strokes back of the lead prior to that devastating sequence. He wound up three-under par for the tournament, four strokes back of the lead.

Choke is the right word here. Woods had a chance to narrow the gap between himself and Adam Scott, and he had played very well on the sixth hole through the first three rounds (three-under par on the hole overall).

Instead of doing what everyone expected or hoped would happen, Woods found himself in the bunker and couldn't get out fast enough to save the hole.

I'm not taking away from Woods' overall performance. The 67s he shot in the first two rounds made him look like the "old" Tiger, but he couldn't hold it together when it mattered the most.

Woods just couldn't string enough consistent shots together. In the first round, he only had one bogey and seemed to be ready to do what it takes, but he struggled to find repeated success in the final rounds.

For Woods, it's back to the drawing board yet again as he seeks his elusive 15th Major victory. Finishing tied for third would be acceptable for some, but not for this icon.

Brandt Snedeker

Snedeker didn't shoot above par on any hole through the first two rounds, but that didn't translate into the weekend.

He bogeyed six holes in Round 3. In the final round, he only bogeyed three holes, but two consecutive double-bogeys crippled any chance he had of finishing higher than third place.

This was Snedeker's highest finish at a Major since he finished tied for third in the 2008 Masters. Aside from winning the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year award in 2007, this is his largest accomplishment.

He's not Woods, so it's tough to call his play in Round 4 "choking." But he didn't play well on Saturday or Sunday. If he had maintained his precise play from the first two rounds, we could have been talking about him as this year's British Open champion.

Dustin Johnson

Johnson finished even par and tied for ninth with nine other golfers. He didn't shoot extremely well for four days, but he wasn't bad either.

His best performances were in Rounds 2 and 3. He birdied eight holes between those two rounds, but only managed four in the other two. He struggled to find consistency off the tee, and he never seemed quite comfortable.

Johnson managed to recover from a 73 in Round 1 with a 68 in Round 2. When he delivered a repeat performance in Round 3, Johnson seemed to be improving his chances, but he couldn't maintain it.

He shot a 71 in Round 4, and finished in a clustered group near the top of the leaderboard.

This was a bit disappointing for Johnson. He finished tied for second in last year's competition, but couldn't do the same this time around.

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar finished tied for ninth right next to Johnson, but his path to get there was a bit different.

Kuchar shot a 69 in Round 1, but appeared to get stronger as the round rolled along. Once he followed that with a 67 in Round 2, it appeared that we had a real contender on our hands, but he followed those solid rounds with two sub-par performances.

He shot a 72 in Rounds 3 and 4. He never regained the form we saw in the rounds leading up to the weekend, and that culminated with a double-bogey on No. 17 in Round 4.

This isn't the first time Kuchar has come close this year. He finished tied for third at the Masters, and he has enjoyed moderate success in the past.

He couldn't get it done in the weekend's rounds, and that cost him a chance at higher standing on this year's leaderboard.

Other Notable American Performers

Mark Calcavecchia: even par, tied for ninth

Zach Johnson: even par, tied for ninth

Hunter Mahan: one-over par, tied for 18th

Bill Haas: one-over par, tied for 18th