The defending champion began the final day four shots off the lead but bogeyed the very first hole to virtually dash his dreams of a successful defence.

He eventually finished the tournament on one under while the likes of David Duval, Bernhard Langer and Niclas Fasth battled to succeed him at the head of the leaderboard.

"I gave it everything I had. I played the best I could but I didn't hit the ball the way I needed to," said Woods, who won the championship in spectacular fashion 12 months ago.

"It's not life or death, there's no regrets. I tried as hard as I could. If I'd given up it would have hurt but that's not the way I play."

Woods blamed his wayward driving for his failure to record another Major victory.

"I drove it great today. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it for the first three days," said the American.

"I didn't get the momentum going. When I got a few birdies, I messed it up somehow."