The Europeans went home from yet another major empty handed, but for 35-year-old Swedish pro Niclas Fasth that streak of futility -- no European player has won a major since England's Paul Lawrie won the 1999 British Open -- is overrated anyway.

"I don't take the responsibility of Europe on my shoulders," said Fasth, who made two birdies in his final five holes and finished in fourth place, two shots behind champion Angel Cabrera. "I try to win, anyway. I don't think about [the streak] at all."

Fasth didn't win the tournament, but he was in the hunt for most of it and was one of the most consistent players from start to finish.

He began yesterday 7-over par and birdied the second hole to move to 6 over where he remained until the seventh hole where he hit his drive into the rough and then had to work to save bogey. He made a bogey on eight and nine to move to 9 over and it appeared as if he'd struggle the rest of the round.

But he composed himself after he made the turn, hit a great approach shot to save par on 10 and played the final nine 2 under to finish an even-par 70. Fasth's two birdies on the back came on 14 and 18, the latter being important because it brought him back into the hunt.

Fasth, who was playing in only his fourth U.S. Open and had never finished in the top 30 until yesterday, said the rough stretch at seven, eight and nine did him in, but overall he was excited by how he played and especially how he finished.

"[The birdie on 18] was the icing on the cake," he said. "I was trying very hard on the back nine. I was in this position and a little far behind, but I gave it a good go on the back nine and that's where I usually do well."

Fasth said the three bogeys were a product of some bad plays on his part as well as bad luck, but they will be on his mind for a long time, particularly since he missed short par putts on eight and nine.

Although he is a relative unknown, he has been successful under pressure throughout his career and he believed that would be his edge coming into the final round.

"I think you've got to like the intensity and the pressure [to win]," Fasth said. "It takes something out of you, everybody gets nervous. But if you like it and you find a way or ways to handle it, then you can push yourself even further in these pressure situations and that's what I've been doing very consistently through the years.

"So even though I generally feel that I don't get into contention enough, I very often win when I do and that's why I was relishing the challenge today, but I was too far behind at the turn."

Fasth's finish was likely somewhat surprising to the casual fan, but truthfully, he has played some of the best golf of his career the past two years. He has won five titles on the European tour and four of those five have come in that time. Included in that is a victory in October in the Mallorca Classic by three strokes over Sergio Garcia.

He also has four top-10 finishes this year on the European tour and finished sixth at the WGC-CA championship at the Blue Monster Course in Doral, Fla., earlier this year. He tied for 55th at the Masters in April.

Fasth said that Oakmont was as tough as any course he has played, but he didn't think it was a problem because every player had the same challenge.

"So to really enjoy it, you've got to accept that we're playing a different kind of course, but I wouldn't have the strength to do this every week."