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Lytham St. Annes, England • Adam Scott, meet Jean Van de Velde.

And Ed Sneed.

And Phil Mickelson.

With a stunning meltdown, Scott gave away the claret jug Sunday and joined an infamous list of the greatest collapses in golf history. The Aussie bogeyed the final four holes of the British Open to finish one stroke behind Ernie Els, who was almost apologetic about the way he won.

"I'm still numb," Els said. "Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. It's a crazy game."

Scott missed a 7-footer at the final hole that would have forced a playoff, his knees buckling as the ball slid by the left edge of the cup. Then, after somehow composing himself and signing his scorecard, he had to return to the same green where his hopes were crushed to accept the runner-up prize.

"I know I let a really great chance slip through my fingers," Scott said.

Indeed, this was a blow to the gut that will certainly take a while to get over, and it's unlikely Scott will ever be able to put it totally out of his mind. He played brilliantly for three straight days, building a four-shot advantage heading to the final round, and he was still up by four after what seemed a clinching birdie at the 14th.

Then he knocked one in a bunker on 15. Bogey. Then he missed a 3-footer at the next hole. Another bogey. Then he hit his worst shot of the whole tournament, an iron from the middle of the fairway that missed left and rolled into some tall grass, leading to a third straight bogey. Up ahead, Els was already done, having birdied the 18th with a clutch 15-footer. As Scott stepped to the final tee, his lead was gone.

Not surprisingly, he drove it in a bunker, leaving himself no other option except to punch out into the fairway. A brilliant shot from 150 yards gave him a chance, but the tall putter that served him so well all week petered out at the end.

There's plenty of guys who know how that feels:

• In a historical context, Scott's flop ranks alongside Sneed's loss at the 1979 Masters. Sneed began the final round with a five-stroke lead and, despite a few wobbles along the way, was still in good position to win coming down the stretch. Three shots ahead. Three holes to play. But, suddenly, his game fell apart. Or, more specifically his putter. Sneed bogeyed the last three holes and lost to Fuzzy Zoeller in a sudden-death playoff. Sneed never came so close again to capturing a major title.

• Of course, Van de Velde's collapse on the 72nd hole of the 1999 British Open is one all others are measured by. The Frenchman had the claret jug in the bag, going to the 72nd hole with a three-shot lead. Instead of playing it safe, he pulled out the driver and knocked his tee shot into the thick rough at Carnoustie. Then he hit it off a grandstand. Then a burn. After briefly considering a whack out of a creek, he took a drop. His now fifth shot went in a bunker, and he needed a testy up-and-down for triple-bogey just to get in a playoff. Alas, he was defeated by Paul Lawrie. Like Sneed, Van de Velde never came close again.

• Then there's the Mickelson stunner at the 2006 U.S. Open. Lefty threw away a chance to win his third straight major. He struggled all day to control his driver, but kept pulling it out of the bag. He did it again at the 18th, needing a par to win or just a bogey to force a playoff. His drive struck a hospitality tent. He attempted to slice the next one under some trees, but caught a branch. Then he plugged one in a back bunker, leading to a double-bogey that gave the championship to Geoff Ogilvy.

And, now, Scott joins the list.