There was a time when Tiger Woods would never have described a year without a major as "great." Maybe he knew what was to come at Oak Hill.
Woods is a four-time PGA champion, but never once threatened to make it five in New York at this season's final major.
When he won so easily in Ohio the previous week, I began to fear for him. As analysts up and down the country declared his 15th major title a formality, I urged caution.
Why? He'd had it too easy. A seven-shot victory with not a challenger in sight. It was all so straightforward. This was no test for him. No vigorous workout before competing in one of golf's big four. And Tiger knew it too.
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Hence his post-Ohio comments in which he surprised many by saying, with five PGA Tour wins, he already considered it a great year. For most players that's true, of course. But Tiger isn't most players.
He was a non-factor at Oak Hill, never once threatening the top of the leaderboard. His form during this year's majors must be a huge concern for him. In 16 rounds he has broken 70 just once.
The law of averages dictates he must win another major at some point, but the startling reality is he's now gone 18 majors without a win.
He'll turn 38 later this year and, while age is still on his side, I often wonder to what extent his self-belief has wavered in recent years when it comes to the cauldron-like atmosphere of competing down the stretch at a major tournament.
It wasn't that long ago that when Tiger's name appeared near the top of the leaderboard, other players would simply fold and go to pieces. Those days are long gone.
However, one man brimming with self-belief is Jason Dufner.
The 36-year-old should have recorded the first major triumph of his career at this event in 2011, but he blew a five-shot lead over the final three holes at Atlanta Athletic Club to surrender the title to Keegan Bradley.
He corrected that error on Sunday, showing the steely nerve which abandoned him two years ago to secure a two-stroke victory over Jim Furyk.
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Dufner shot to prominence earlier this year, when an unfortunate photograph of him looking bored and vacant during an appearance at a school in Texas spawned a spate of imitations, creating the craze of “Dufnering.”
The Cleveland native displayed an altogether more admirable indifference down the stretch on Sunday, carding a two-under-par final round to win the first major of his 13-year pro career.
Unlike Dufner, Woods' career will likely be defined by whether he can match Jack Nicklaus’ record haul of 18 major titles.
And as far as performance in golf’s four marquee tournaments is concerned, Woods is enduring a gargantuan slump.
By the time next April's Masters comes around, the current world No. 1's major drought will be just shy of six years. When your name is Tiger Woods, that is a golfing lifetime.
Nicklaus, widely regarded as the only man who stands above Woods in golf’s pantheon of greats, suffered his own lean spell.
His worst major drought was 20 and came at the tail end of his illustrious career.
Tiger has been "stuck" on his tally of 14 majors since June 2008 and, right now at least, he appears as far away as ever from adding to it.
If Woods is to rediscover his form of old, his unflappable confidence and assured performances on many a major Sunday, he might want to consider taking a leaf out of Dufner's book.
