Sports

Westwood gracious in defeat

GULLANE, Scotland — Lee Westwood, gutted following yet another heartbreaking major championship final-round failure, was classy and philosophical in defeat after the British Open at Muirfield yesterday.

Westwood took a two-shot lead into the final round, shot 75 and lost to Phil Mickelson by four shots.

When it was over, he offered no excuses.

“I didn’t really play well enough,’’ Westwood said. “I didn’t play badly, but I didn’t play great. Sometimes you play well and somebody plays a bit better, and sometimes you play poorly. I didn’t really do either today and Phil obviously played well.’’

The last time Westwood, who has eight top-three finishes in majors since 2008, had a 54-hole lead at a major, Mickelson beat him, winning the 2010 Masters.

“I’m not too disappointed,’’ Westwood said. “I don’t really get disappointed with golf anymore. I finished top-three in a major championship. I would like to have won, but you can’t not take positives from top-three in a major. … I’m a philosophical person. It just doesn’t wind me up or get to me anymore. I keep putting myself in contention. I didn’t do a lot wrong today. I just didn’t do enough right.’’

* Masters champion Adam Scott led the tournament when he made the turn for the back nine, but failed to close, carding four consecutive bogeys on Nos. 13, 14, 15 and 16 to lose to Mickelson by four shots at 1-over.

“I let a great chance slip, I felt, during the middle of the round … and that’s disappointing,’’ Scott said. “Had I played a little more solid in the middle of that back nine, I could have had a chance coming in. It’s a shame.’’

A year ago at the British, Scott had a four-shot lead with four holes to play and bogeyed all of them to lose to Ernie Els. As Masters champion, he feels his game in a better place now, though.

“I’m happy with my week, other than I didn’t win,’’ he said. “But I lived up to my expectations of putting myself in contention with a chance. It will just have to go down in the experience book and something to build on again.’’

* Early in the day, Ian Poulter put a charge into the final round, shooting 5-under in the first 12 holes to get to even par, but he could not sustain it on the way in and finished at 1-over after shooting 67.

“I managed to chop into the guys’ lead somewhat around the turn, making eagle and three birdies there to start the back nine,’’ Poulter said. “I really put myself in a nice position. It’s a shame to bogey 16, not birdie 17. But 4-under par in those circumstances was obviously a very good round of golf.’’

* Mickelson continued the tradition of high-caliber champions at Muirfield. Going back to World War II, all of the Muirfield winners are in the Hall of Fame, starting with Henry Cotton and followed by Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo (twice) and Els. Mickelson is the first to win the championship at Muirfield while already in the Hall of Fame.

* Mickelson had been the last player to win a major the week after winning a tournament — the 2010 Masters the week after winning the BellSouth in Atlanta. He won the Scottish Open last week before winning the British Open this week. … This year marked the third straight 40-something Open winner — Mickelson (43), Ernie Els (42) and Darren Clarke (43).