ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - This is beginning to get a bit repetitive: Jason Day came up short at another major. 

Day came within inches of getting into a playoff with eventual winner Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman, when his birdie attempt at the 72nd hole of the 144th Open Championship fell short.

"I read the putt on 18, just to do what I expected it to do," Day said. "I hit a good putt. All I wanted to do was put a good stroke on it. I didn't want to blast it way past the hole and hit it through the break, so I just wanted to hit my normal putt and try and hole it. Unfortunately I thought it was a little bit faster, and it just pulled up short."

This is the second consecutive major that Day held a share of the 54-hole lead. He battled vertigo last month at Chambers Bay, but still managed a 2-under 68 in the third round. Playing alongside Dustin Johnson in the final round of the U.S. Open, Day shot 4-over 74 and settled into a tie for fourth.

Vertigo wasn't an issue for Day this week, and after rounds of 66-71-67-70 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, he again finished T-4. He now has six top-5 finishes in majors, and only fellow Aussie Adam Scott has more since 2011 (seven).

"I really did the right things to give myself the opportunity at getting into the playoff and having a shot at winning my first major. ... I don't know, it's just something that I really want to do, is I really want to have that shot at immortality. It'll soon come my way. I've just got to be patient with it."