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LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) — Adam Scott was struggling to protect his lead Sunday in the finale of the British Open, making three bogeys early in the round, while Tiger Woods' hopes of a 15th major title might have ended when he took a triple-bogey at the sixth hole after being forced to hit out of a bunker while sitting down. Multimedia Photoview all 8 photos Article Gallery: Scott struggles to hold lead at British Open No one was taking charge at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, where the sun was out again but the breeze picked up significantly off the Irish Sea. All of the top five players on the leaderboard were over par for the day as they approached the turn. Scott, who went into the final round with a four-stroke lead, got off to a rough start at the par-3 opening hole when his drive rolled off the back of the green and he missed a 4-footer to save par. He bounced back with a birdie at the second, but two more bogeys at the third and sixth holes left him at 9 under overall. Fortunately for the Aussie, he wasn't being challenged. Brandt Snedeker made par on the first six holes to get within two strokes of the lead — only to make a double-bogey 7 at the seventh after he drove left into the rough. Woods started the round five shots back and looking to come from behind for the first time ever to win a major title. But the debacle at No. 6 seemed likely to wipe out any chance he had of rallying. He ran into trouble by putting his approach into one of the treacherous bunkers alongside the green. With the ball right up against a towering sod wall, Woods made the ill-fated decision to try to chip the ball out — and didn't come close, the ball striking the side of the bunker not even halfway up. He had to jump out of the way just to make sure he didn't get hit in the shoulder, the ball plopping back into the stand a little farther back. With nowhere to place his feet, Woods had to sprawl out on the grass, his left leg tucked up under his right, and punch at the ball from a sitting position. He caught the lip of the bunker this time, but the ball skidded out to the front of the green. Woods' work wasn't done, though. His long bogey putt stopped about 4 feet short of the hole, and he missed that one for a devastating triple that knocked him back to 3 under. Graeme McDowell, playing in the final group with Scott, also was struggling. He bogeyed the second and took another bogey at the sixth after dumping his ball into the same bunker that doomed Woods. Wisely, G-Mac punched ball backward in the sand, giving him a chance to stick his next bunker shot right up next to the flag. He tapped that one in to save a 5, certainly a lot better than a 7. McDowell and Snedeker were both at 5 under, leaving Scott with the same lead he had at the start of the day. ___ Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

h� K l �lZ H�Y e more than two years without winning, and had thrown away two tournaments in recent months with shaky putting, the Big Easy felt all along that something special was going to happen at this British Open. And it did — all because of a collapse by Scott that no one saw coming. "I know I let a really great chance slip through my fingers today," Scott said. On a wind-swept afternoon at Royal Lytham & St. Annes that blew away the hopes of Tiger Woods and a handful of others, Scott looked steady as ever by going eight straight holes without making bogey. And that's when it came undone. "I had it in my hands with four to go," Scott said. A bogey from the bunker on the 15th cut the lead to three. That was followed by a three-putt bogey on the 16th, where his 3-foot par putt spun in and out of the cup and made the gallery gasp. From the middle of the 17th fairway, he hit a 6-iron that turned left, ran down the slope and took one last bounce in shin-high grass. "I thought, 'Hold on. We've got a problem here,' " said Graeme McDowell, playing with Scott in the final group. By then, Els had posted a 2-under 68 with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole, a cheer that Scott recognized while playing the 17th. Scott failed to get up-and-down for par from the rough and suddenly was tied. Els headed to the practice green, where it rarely works out for him. In perhaps the most crushing defeat in a career filled with them, Els was on the putting green at Augusta National in 2004 when Phil Mickelson made an 18-foot birdie putt to win the Masters. "I just thought, 'I'll probably be disappointed again,' " Els said. "You're not really hoping the guy is going to make a mistake, but you're hoping you don't have to go a playoff, you can win outright. This one was different, because I feel for Adam." Els, who started the final round six shots behind, wound up with his second British Open — the other one was 10 years ago at Muirfield — and fourth major championship at a stage in his career when it looked as if his best golf was behind him. "Amazing," Els said. "I'm still numb. It still hasn't set in. It will probably take quite a few days because I haven't been in this position for 10 years, obviously. So it's just crazy, crazy, crazy getting here."