By Brian Keogh

Michael Campbell finished the US Open with a worst of the week 79 and slammed the course set up as major madness.

The New Zealander said he felt the difficulty of the test at Oakmont made some players "look like fools" as he finished tied for 58th on 24 over par.

And he fears that the fans are being cheated of some final day excitement as the recent major championships have become a boring battle for bogeys and pars.

Argentina's Angel Cabrera closed with a 69 to finish one stroke clear of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk on five over par and take his first major title.

But with an average score for the week of 75.72, Campbell feels the fun factor is being taken out of the majors.

"It is on the edge of embarrassing some of the guys," Campbell said. "It wasn't much fun out there, put it that way.

"I used to enjoy coming to major tournaments and playing them. But when you are out there grinding your butt off for bogeys and pars it is not very nice.

"We felt that at Augusta this year. Normally you get a guy charging on the back nine and shooting 30 like Jack Nicklaus did in 1986.

"To me that is exciting TV and for the players and the spectators too. But now there are just guys making bogeys and it is making us look like fools really."

Campbell bogeyed the first, seventh and eighth and then double bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in five over par 40.

And while he birdied the par-three 13th coming home, bogeys at the 11th, 15th and 17th coupled with a double bogey at the short 16th saw him sign for a 79

He said: "It is not very enjoyable at all. I think today the course won against me. I snapped out there you could say.

"After nine holes I was four or five over and it was quite hard to get thing sgoing.

"It is nice to make the cut in a major tournament and it would be nice to win but there is always next week.

"I am a lot more confident off the tee and with my putting. So I am going to focus on getting ready for the Open in another four weeks' time

"The general consensus by all the players is that this is the toughest major we've come across - definitely.

"It has got the combination of the undulating fast greens. You've got the rough and a linksy feel as well. So those three things together makes it a tough golf course."