Couples - superb last-round charge.

Fred Couples was left wondering what might have been after firing a final-round 68 at the Open to finish at eight-under par for the championship.

Although he has never won it, Couples has an impressive record at the Open, previously finishing in the top five on three occasions and in the top 10 eight times since making his debut here at St Andrews in 1984.

And the American enjoyed another lofty finishing position this time - tied third with Jose Maria Olazabal - after collecting five birdies and just the one bogey in his final round.

However, the 45-year-old felt a golden opportunity may have slipped through his grasp.

"I had a great day, played very well," he said. "But it could have been a heck of a lot better.

"I birdied the first hole, one lipped out on three, birdied five, close on seven. Number nine for eagle spun out. Then I birdied 10 and 18, and that was it.

"So with a little bit of luck I could've been a couple better off and had a better finish," he added ruefully.

Despite that disappointment though, Couples was still able to finish the tournament with a smile - partly because of the enjoyment he takes from playing at St Andrews, and partly because he was looking forward to putting his feet up.

"It's so much fun to play St Andrews. It's a unique spot. It's a great place for me to come and play. I really felt good yesterday and today going out to play," he said.

"But I'm done now," joked the 45-year-old.

"Standing here my feet are ready to break off! I've been playing a lot recently. I knew I would play well this week but maybe not this well. It's a great course for me."

Couples was also full of praise for the thousands of fans who turned up to watch the tournament this week.

"They're always great. I've played a lot of Dunhill Cups and Opens here and they're fantastic," he said.

"They know about golf. In a subtle way they root you on. They have favourites and I've always been enamoured by how nice they are, how courteous they are and how well they know how good a shot you have hit.

"It's fun for all of us."

John Daly was another who felt he should have been celebrating a higher finish.

Daly, Open champion here in 1995, flirted with the leading pack on a number of occasions on the final two days but was never able to follow up his formidable driving power with any sort of consistency on the green.

Today started well enough for the American as he birdied the opening hole to move to seven-under par for the tournament.

However, the "Wild Thing" was only able to record one more birdie during the remainder of his round and dropped shots at the sixth, 15th and 17th left him at one-over for the day and five-under overall.

The Achilles heel for Daly was his putting.

"I hit the ball really great today..all week," said Daly, one of the most powerful strikers in the game who has led the PGA Tour driving distance category in nine of the last 10 years.

"But I putted horribly. Granted some of them are 100-foot putts on par-fours for eagles, but I missed a lot of short putts today.

"The greens are really, really crusty, that's why the scores aren't as good as you might have expected.

"The ball is jumping off the putter and that made it very difficult to make any putts today.

"I had an opportunity to finish in the top 10 if I made any putts. I think I had 37 putts today. If I had 32 putts, I finish in second place. So you have to look at it," added Daly, who was still not too disappointed with his overall performance in a tournament where he has missed the cut in five of his previous six appearances.

"I'm just happy the way I'm hitting the ball. When I putt this badly and still finish in 13th, I can't be too mad."

Daly also felt the St Andrews course was even more testing this year than on his previous visits, even though the weather conditions were largely favourable for much of the week.

He explained: "It's a challenging golf course when the wind blows and the way the R & A put the pins this week it made the course tougher.

"I've seen pins this week I've never dreamed of or ever seen. That's the way the tour's going. There are no easy pins anymore. Now there are 18 hard pins every day."