HAVEN, Wis. - About the only good news for Tiger Woods on Sunday was that he will hold on to his spot as the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world for another week.
Little else, however, suggests he is playing at that level.
Woods shot 1-over-par 73 to finish the PGA Championship at 286, 2 under par. It was his 10th straight major without a victory, dating to the 2002 U.S. Open. That matches the longest stretch of his career.
Had Ernie Els won - he missed the three-way playoff by one stroke - he would have taken over the No. 1 spot because Woods finished tied for 24th.
"I felt like I was playing well coming into this tournament, and I just didn't play well the first day," Woods said. "I put myself behind the 8-ball.
"It's very disappointing."
Woods noted, however, that the situation is similar to the last time he went such a long time without winning. He retooled his swing after the 1997 season when he won the Masters, then won once in 1998. But he won the 1999 PGA Championship and went on to win seven of the next 11 majors.
"It's not like I haven't traveled down this road before," said Woods, whose only win this season was at the Match Play Championships. "Hopefully it will be the same result."
Woods, who came into the PGA tied with Greg Norman for most weeks at No. 1, extended his run to a record 332 weeks.
SO CLOSE, AGAIN: Els played great and got beat at the Masters. He missed a chance to win the British Open with a birdie putt in regulation, but had made two birdies coming down the stretch to give himself a chance.
But at the PGA Championship, Els will look long and hard at himself.
For the second straight day, Els bogeyed the 18th hole, and Sunday's 5 on the finishing hole cost him a place in a playoff with Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco.
Els' final-round 73 tied him for fourth. He ended the year with two seconds (Masters and British Open), a tie for fourth (PGA) and a tie for ninth (U.S. Open) in the majors. On Sunday, Els birdied the 15th and 16th holes to give himself a chance, then three-putted from 70 feet at the final hole. He did not speak to reporters afterward.
PHIL'S FINISH: It has been some year for Phil Mickelson. He won the Masters, finished second at the U.S. Open and third at the British Open. With a final-round 74, Mickelson tied for sixth, but he missed the playoff by two strokes. So Mickelson won his first major, but lost the others by a combined five shots.
"I really had to fight it all day," said Mickelson, who had a double bogey on the front nine and bogey at the last hole. "I never really hit it well. I didn't putt the way I wanted to. I feel like I almost had a chance, which is really frustrating."
MAJOR RECAP: Only 10 players made the cut in the four majors, and Mickelson fared the best. Mickelson was the only one to finish each of the four tournaments under par.
The others who made the cut in all four majors: K.J. Choi, DiMarco, Els, Steve Flesch, Charles Howell, Shaun Micheel, PGA champion Singh, Scott Verplank and Woods.
FINE DAY: In his first major championship as British Open champion, Todd Hamilton finished with 68 to complete the tournament at par 288. He was one of two players to break 70 Sunday, and Hamilton played his best in the toughest conditions, which might explain why he excelled last month in Scotland. And he's learning to live with his new fame.
"I seem to be recognized by a lot more people," he said. "I've got a lot more friends than I thought I had. Sometimes it's hard because you feel like you've got to sign everybody's hat or program. ... But it's a good problem to have. It's nice to be recognized here and there.
"I don't know if I'd like to be in Tiger's shoes to be recognized like that, but it's nice when people know who you are."
BITTERSWEET: Chris Riley was thrilled to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team but crushed to have missed a putt on the 72nd hole that would have put him in a playoff. Riley, known on the PGA Tour for his putting prowess, three-putted the last green, including a missed 5-footer for par. He shot 73.
"The last four holes, the Ryder Cup started to get on my mind," he said. "I wasn't leaderboard watching until the last hole, or the last putt. I looked up and saw I was right there. Maybe I rushed it, maybe I didn't.
"I'm so proud of how I played except for that last putt."
AROUND WHISTLING STRAITS: Course owner Herb Kohler said Sunday that he wants to see more major events come to the course. The 2007 U.S. Senior Open has been awarded to the course, and he is gunning for the 2012 U.S. Open. Kohler would like to go after a future Ryder Cup, although the next one available is not until 2020. And he's hoping to get the 2009 U.S. Women's Open to come to nearby Blackwolf Run, which held the championship in 1998. ... Woods, for one, is hoping the U.S. Open doesn't come to Whistling Straits. "I would hate to see what the USGA would do to this golf course," he said. "I think the PGA did a wonderful job setting this golf course up." ... Chip Sullivan, the head golf pro at Ashley Plantation Country Club in Daleville, Va., was the low club pro in the field at 287, 1 under par. It was the best performance by a club pro in relation to par since 1969, when Jimmy Wright was 5 under at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio. Each year, 25 club pros qualify for the PGA Championship. Sullivan was one of three to make the cut.
