• Out of Bounds

Only a matter of time before Westwood breaks his duck

Lee Westwood has finished in the top three at all four Majors © Getty Images

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There must come a point when watching the winner walk up to collect his trophy and cheque finally takes its toll. For Lee Westwood, that time may not be far away.

In reality, finishing second behind Louis Oosthuizen at the Open Championship at St Andrews, while carrying a leg injury, is a mighty fine effort. But for a man who has become accustomed to such near misses, earning praise for ending the week as runner-up only fuels further frustration.

"I keep putting myself into contention in these Major Championships and keep finishing in the top three. It's not really to be sniffed at and complained about. That's all I'm going to try and do, just try and keep going as I am, keep working out, trying to improve little bits and hopefully one of these chances will turn into a trophy," he said.

"I don't know if it's around the corner, but hopefully it's about three weeks away. I can't do much more than I'm already doing. I'm trying to improve all the time and I'm sticking myself in contention. I'm showing a lot of consistency but it's not quite been good enough."

While the world No. 3 is remaining upbeat, deep down he must surely be starting to have doubts whether he can ever end his search for an elusive Major title. However, Out of Bounds believes it is only a matter of time before the Englishman breaks his duck.

After recently revealing that he was on the verge of quitting the sport in 2002 after tumbling down the world rankings, claiming second place at the British Open - ahead of the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, needs to be put into some perspective.

The leg injury he picked up at the Open de France was later diagnosed as a torn calf - leaving him only a week to recover before the start of the Open. Therefore, to shoot four rounds below par is a phenomenal achievement - especially when you consider how many of the other top players succumbed to the treacherous weather conditions and the tough pin locations on the Old Course.

There is no doubting Westwood's quality. He may not have the X-factor or the personality to dazzle, but his consistency is his weapon and sooner or later his reliability will see him triumph on the biggest stage.

Westwood ended a 12-year drought on the PGA Tour last month © Getty Images

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On seven occasions now, he has finished in the top five at a Major championship without achieving a breakthrough victory. Of those seven, he has finished second twice and third twice. When you consider he dropped to 256th in the world during the darkest period of his career, his current 'crisis' of not being able to get over the line in the big ones is dramatically put into context.

At 37, Westwood still has time to realise his dream. Admittedly, with the young talent emerging at such a rapid rate, the chances of him picking up a Major are slimmer than they once were. But judging by the current form of the third best player on the planet - age would appear to be just a number.

Not only is his scoring average the lowest it has been for five years, he has also had more top 25 finishes this year than in any of the previous five. After scooping two wins on the European Tour at the back end of 2009 - the Portugal Masters and the Dubai World Championship - he recently bagged only his second title on the PGA Tour.

The Englishman saw off Swede Robert Karlsson on the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off at the St. Jude Classic to end his 12-year drought and become the first European to win the tour's third-oldest event.

The time has come for Westwood to use his unbelievable consistency to his advantage. Seeing his name near the top of a leaderboard is bound to make players feel uneasy because they know he is unlikely to falter.

If he can hole a few more birdies and maintain his current high fitness levels he will surely bring to an end the statistic that he is the only man in history to have had a top-three finish in all four majors and never won one.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.