Tiger Woods British Open: Poor Weekend Play Signals Major Drought Will Drag on

Don't expect Tiger Woods to win another major anytime soon.

Tiger's brutal weekend play at the 2012 British Open in Royal Lytham & St. Annes cost him a shot at his fourth career Claret Jug and signals that his lengthy major drought will only drag on.

Woods entered Saturday's third round 6-under par, but after shooting 70 and 73 on Saturday and Sunday respectively, the tournament was well out of reach for Tiger, who finished tied for third at 3-under, four strokes back of winner Ernie Els.

Woods' major tournament drought dates back to the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, his last major win. Since then Tiger has gone 0-13 in majors, finishing in the Top 10 at seven of the 13. More alarming for Woods though is the fact that he can't seem to finish in the later rounds.

Sunday's British Open was a prime example of Tiger's newfound inability to close the deal. The conditions were perfect for Woods to finally break through. The leader, Adam Scott, fell apart late, and no leaders outside Ernie Els managed to shoot under or at par for the round. Tiger still couldn't end the suffering in majors.

For Tiger, the Open Championship was likely lost on the triple bogey on hole No. 6. Tiger would score four birdies in the final round after his struggles on No. 6, but he also recorded four bogeys to kill any chances of a fourth Open Championship.

The drought and struggles wear on. After only missing two major cuts from 1995 to 2008, Woods has missed two major cuts in the last three years. Although there have been glimpses of the old Tiger every now and then over the past couple years, he simply is not the player he once was. 

The nagging injuries have piled up, and Tiger's confidence is visibly shaken. Whether Tiger's poor weekend play at Royal Lytham was a result of his most recent personal scandal and the expectations that come with winning 14 majors in 52 starts is irrelevant. 

Winning No. 15 will only get harder the longer it takes, and after playing so well through the first two rounds at this summer's Open Championship before falling apart, Tiger gave more legitimacy to the question of whether he'll ever win another major tournament. 

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