He strokes a putt, and it goes only halfway to the hole. He stubs a chip, and it dribbles less than a club length away. He tries again, and the second chip produces the same result.  At moments like these, he stares wearily at the ball, almost glassy-eyed. Sometimes he shoots a somnolent look at the club in his hand â an expression that seems to say, Why are you doing this to me?  Major championships used to be Woodsâs playground. He was a bundle of energy, all fist pumps and throaty screams. He twirled the club in his hand, marched across fairways and pointed his finger at putts as they rolled toward the hole, commanding the ball to go in.  The ball always listened. Then Woods would flash that smile, the one full of verve and vitality.  He had an unstoppable dynamism, storming the majors as if he were on horseback and the rest of the field were crawling on hands and knees. With his shoulders back and his eyes forward, he was forever charging.  During Saturdayâs third round of the United States Open, when he shot a six-over-par 76, dropping out of contention, Woods stood with his shoulders slumped and his gaze fixed between his feet on multiple holes. It is a new look for him, a post-2008 droop, a pose of dazed resignation.  He remains proud. He does not quit. But he is clearly getting tired of all this losing at majors.  âIt is certainly frustrating,â he said Saturday about losing another chance at a major championship. âI was feeling like I was playing well.â  Without prompting, he backed up to April and the Masters.  âAt Augusta I was pretty close, and I had the lead at one point, and I hit that flag and ended up in the water,â Woods said, referring to a hole that earned him a two-stroke penalty and ignited a dispute.  With no emotion on his face, he added: âIâm playing well enough to win. Unfortunately, I just havenât gotten it done.â  Woods has won four tournaments this year. For all we know, he may end up winning the PGA Tourâs player of the year award.  But it has been five years now since he last won a major, and the 16 tournaments he has played in from 2008 to 2013, including this weekâs United States Open, have had a recurring pattern.  Woods often puts himself in contention during the first two rounds. Then he plays just poorly enough to lose, although sometimes he does not even come close.  Before 2008, the overall pattern in major tournaments was the reverse: get him near the lead on the weekend, and he typically stayed there, winning 14 times.  But the post-2008 trend is getting too familiar. Woods knows it, too. It is in his tired eyes.  At the fifth hole Saturday, standing 12 yards from the hole in the fringe of the green, he butchered a chip so badly that it moved no more than 18 inches. Then it rolled backward off the green by 25 feet.  The television commentator Johnny Miller said at the time, âThe gallery must be saying, âI could do better than that.âÂ â  On the 10th green, he lipped out a putt from 4 Â½ feet for par. He did the same thing from 3 feet on the 16th hole. Off the tee, even with an iron in his hands, he missed fairways on easy holes, which led to bogeys. Shots that he makes with ease during regular PGA Tour events he has struggled to execute with any kind of consistency in the majors.  On the 18th green, after a packed grandstand gave him a respectful ovation, he had a 7-foot putt for par. The ball did not scare the hole.  âI missed a boatload of putts within 10 feet,â he said late Saturday. He shook his head as if feeling woozy.  âJust frustrating,â he continued. âCertainly frustrating.â  There are four major championships in every golf season. For five years now, one of the enduring story lines has been whether Woods can move beyond his 14 career major victories, a kind of golf legacy milepost where he remains stranded.  In the parlance of championship golf, Saturday is moving day, the time when contending golfers move up the leader board to get themselves in position for a Sunday victory. This yearâs United States Open was the 16th opportunity for Woods to win his 15th major.  But he did not move up on moving day.  The only thing that moved was the wait and wonder about whether Woods would ever win more than 14 majors. That has now been transferred to next monthâs British Open.  It is beginning to be an old question.  And Woods surely looks tired of it.  This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:  Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the number of major tournaments Tiger Woods has played in since his last victory, in 2008. It is 16, not 20.
It is almost with a sense of resignation that Tiger Woods, who has dropped out of contention in the United States Open, approaches his play in the major championships.