"I stood at 15 with hand on the trophy," Bjorn said, "and I let it go."
Even Curtis' fiancee was sympathetic.
"I'm so happy for Ben," said Candace Beatty, a former college golfer. "But I feel so bad for Thomas."
The ghastliest hole for Bjorn was the par-3 16th. His tee shot drifted right of the pin -- the one place not to go -- caught the ridge and dropped into the bunker.
He blasted out over the lip, but the ball slid back down the slope and into the sand. Another blast, same result. Bjorn finally got it out and made double bogey.
"I just hit a couple of poor bunker shots at the wrong time," he said. "It was an expensive mistake."
Bjorn wasn't the only one who wilted.
Woods couldn't find the fairway down the stretch and let a perfect opportunity to capture his ninth major title slip away. Now, he'll get to listen to more talk about his major slump -- he's failed to win in his last five attempts.
Singh didn't make enough putts and finished with Bjorn at even-par 284. Love was doomed by a bad start and wound up tied for fourth with Woods at 285.
There have been other surprises in the majors.
Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie four years ago when Van de Velde collapsed on the final hole; John Daly captured the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate; Jack Fleck beat Hogan in a playoff in the 1955 US Open at Olympic Club.
Still, this ranks among the greatest shockers of all.
Curtis' best finish of the year came two weeks ago at the Western Open, a tie for 13th that allowed him to qualify for his first major championship.
After Sunday, he'll get to play them all.
RSS