So near and yet so far at Turnberry.  It was disappointing although third place in a major is not to be sniffed at.

To be perfectly honest I thought I had to hole my first putt on the last green, but then to three-putt and miss out on a play-off by one was a bit of a sickener.

I couldn't  see Tom Watson  bogeying the last, since he's such an experienced player, but he did and that left the door open for Stewart Cink to claim the first major title I'm still looking for.

I actually played great all week and even though I had a two-shot lead at one stage in the final round, I never once thought that I had it in the bag.   I was pretty happy with the way I played, hit lovely shots and made some good up-and-downs when I needed to.   It just didn't happen when it needed to.

 I was pretty calm and collected all week, but it wasn't to be.   Missing out on the US Open play-off last year was also very disappointing, but Turnberyy was The Open Championship and it's the one that means the most to me.

I've just got to keep working.  I'm putting in the hard work at the moment and it's obviously paying off because I'm getting closer.   Thankfully the US PGA Championship is just round the corner so I'll be doing everything I can to get in contention again.

I didn't have much time to dwell on the disappointment because I have had a tour of my academies this week and what a great success they have been.  It's been tiring, but well worth the effort and hopefully things will move on and continue to help the golfers of tomorrow.

Laurae and I were also in London during the week to help launch the Andrew Flintoff Foundation, of which I'm proud to be a patron.  We had a wonderful night at the Hurlingham Club when about £250,000 was raised to help children with physio and injury re-hab issues.

 Lord Jeffrey Archer was the auctioneer and when the bidding stopped for a trip to Augusta for next year's US Masters and the chance to caddie for me at the Par 3 competition, £43,000 was handed over.  It was the biggest bid of the night and I was delighted to have helped raise so much.

Now I'm preparing for my next visit to America starting in Akron for the Bridgestone WGC event before heading to the mid-west for the final grand slam event of the season.

Many thanks for all your messages of support. They are really appreciated and hopefully next time I'll have something very positive to report to you.