Major chance slips by

Another major tournament came and went for Worksop’s Lee Westwood last weekend, as he finished in a share of 15th place at the US Open.

It was the 40-year-old’s 14th attempt to win the event, and he started brightly at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania.

Playing alongside fellow Englishman Luke Donald and Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Westwood was three under and tied for the lead with Phil Mickelson at the 12th hole.

But a moment of genuine misfortune saw him double bogey, as a pitch out of the rough hit the unique wicker basket that took the place of flags at the event, and rebounced off the green.

Poor light saw Westwood complete his first round on Friday, when a bogey at the 17th dropped him back to level par.

A seven-over-par round of 77 followed, and although he was three over at one stage on Saturday, he birdied the last four holes to finish with a 69 and move into the top 20 before Sunday’s final round.

He carded a 73 however, finishing nine over par, as Justin Rose picked up his first major win.