• World No 1 taps wrist at officials before finishing tied for fourth • Holmes plummets from third to fourth last after round of 87

Brooks Koepka was left frustrated by the slow play of his partner JB Holmes as he failed to rustle up his customary last-round finish. The world No 1 had won four of the last nine majors coming into Portrush but a spluttering final-round 74 – including four bogeys in the first four holes – left him tied for fourth overall with Lee Westwood on six under.

And towards the end of the round, with the chances of winning his first Open title long gone, the American signalled his displeasure at Holmes’s play by tapping his wrist in the direction of his officials.

“There are a lot of slow guys out here, that’s not the first time I’ve done it, especially when you’ve got a walking official with you,” Koepka said. “I’m ready to go most of the time. That’s what I don’t understand when it’s your turn to hit, your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it, that’s where the problem lies.

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“It’s not that he takes that long. He doesn’t do anything until his turn. That’s the frustrating part. But he’s not the only one that does it out here.”

However, Koepka admitted he had some sympathy with Holmes, who shot a final-round 87 – 16 over par – to move from third place at the start of the day to fourth last on six over.

“He had a rough day, but JB is a slow player,” Koepka said. “We were on pace for 13 holes, but if I’m in the group we’re going to be on pace no matter what. But there were some times where I thought it was slow.”

Koepka has finished second, first, second and fourth at this year’s major championships but he confessed that he was not entirely happy with his play at the Open. “I don’t see much positive out of it,” he said. “I didn’t play the way I wanted to. And I’ve got to live with that.”

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood said he was delighted with a final-round 73 to secure fourth place and a spot at the Masters at Augusta next year.

“I was starting to moan and groan a little bit coming down the stretch,” Westwood joked. “The legs started to ache a bit. But I’m still pretty fit and don’t feel 46. I love playing golf, and especially around great golf courses like this.

“I always feel like I can perform at the Open. I think it doesn’t just suit one style of play. It brings in everybody to it. You don’t have to be a bomber, which I’m probably not any more. You’ve just got to have cunning and guile and know how to get your ball around, especially when it gets like this.”

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Westwood knew he could have finished even higher if he had not made three bogeys in a row at the 9th, 10th and 11th when the wind and rain was lashing down. “It was some of the toughest conditions I’ve played in an Open Championship,” he said.

Tony Finau was also delighted after finishing third behind Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood with a final-round 71 to finish on seven under.

“I hit it good but the wind was hard,” Finau said. “We got the worst of it. It started raining and blowing sideways. We had to weather the storm there in the middle of the round. It played extremely tough.

“But I’m really proud of the way I played this week. Close to my best finish in a major on this venue is pretty cool. I continue to just prove to myself one day I can win one of these, no doubt.”