Contenders needed only par scores over final holes, but couldn't get them

Woods, Singh, Love and Bjorn all faltered down the stretch.
SANDWICH, England (AP) -- Tiger Woods needed to make just a few pars at the end, and he couldn't.
Vijay Singh and Davis Love III merely had to stay out of trouble on the final holes.
They didn't.
The world's best players were right where they wanted to be on the back nine of the British Open -- in contention with only an untested rookie and a shaky Dane in front of them.
Shockingly, they couldn't deliver when so little was needed to win.
Ben Curtis may have backed his way into a major championship title with four bogeys on the last seven holes.
But it only happened because Thomas Bjorn imploded in the sand and a trio of major winners couldn't make a few crucial pars.
Curtis held off the best
The most open of all Opens was wide open at the end. When it came time to step up and grab the claret jug, though, only Curtis responded.
"Everybody was talking about Tiger, Love and Bjorn. Ben just played his round and got away with it," Singh said.
Curtis did, but only because Singh, Love and Woods helped him get away with it.
If ever there was a British Open begging to be taken, this was it. For the lack of a few simple pars, it never came.
"I had my chances and I blew it," Singh said. "There's no excuse for that."
He wasn't alone.
The greatest player in the world needed only to par his last four holes to get in a playoff. Surely, Woods would be hoisting his second claret jug on the 18th green.
He didn't come close, bogeying two of the last four to stretch his major championship winless streak to five.
"I just didn't make some good swings when I needed to," Woods said.
Love falters again
And what about Davis Love III? Wasn't he playing in the final group and heading for the relatively easy par-5 14th with a chance to tie for the lead?
He was, until he made par on the hole and a bogey on the 17th to finish tied with Woods two shots back.
"If I'd putted well I would have won. If I'd hit a few more good shots I would have won," Love said. "Thomas, Tiger and Vijay are all saying the same thing, so it's unfortunate but I gave it my all."
The biggest surprise in one of the most surprising Opens may not have been Curtis hanging on to win by a shot over Singh and Bjorn. It may have been that three players with 11 major titles between them couldn't even play par golf on the finishing holes.
Royal St. George's was hard, that's for sure. But all the major championship courses are.
"It was a tough test, very, very tough," Love said. "It seems like our majors are bordering on the edge of unfair all the time and you've got to play that game."
Long-shot winner
Curtis, a 500-1 long shot playing in his first major championship, predictably bogeyed four of the last seven holes to give everyone a chance. Bjorn was ready to take it until he had one too many misadventures in the sand on the 16th hole.
Woods, Singh and Love didn't need to make a string of birdies to win. They just needed to keep from giving shots away.
They couldn't stop the leaking.
"It was sad actually because I thought I was playing real well," Singh said. "Coming down the stretch you can't make any bogeys."