Scott so close to winning, his name was on the medal

Australian golfer Adam Scott was so close to winning the British Open that his name was sketched on the championship medal.

Scott was cruising with a four-stroke advantage with four holes to play before racking up consecutive bogeys on the last four holes as South African Ernie Els stormed home with three birdies down the closing stretch.

Els' final-round two-under-par 68 gave him a second Open triumph with a 72-hole total of seven-under 273.

Scott's five-over 75 was his worst final round of the year and left him in second place at six-under 274.

The 32-year-old had opened the tournament with a course record-equalling 64 and further rounds of 67 and 68, his 54-hole total just one shy of the lowest in Open history.

Scott had been seeking his long overdue first major championship, but instead he will inevitably be compared to his childhood hero Norman, whose most notorious loss came at the 1996 US Masters when he blew a six-shot last-day lead.