This is a great post. Since 2016, Shane is now 0 for 2 at the US Open, and 0 for 2 at the International Open. Granted, the fields have exploded in sheer numbers of extremely talented players-that have superseded the world championship in field average Fargo rating.
I expect him to come out swinging for the next US Open in Vegas.
Pete Fleming told me this week that a race to 11 (and even to 13) isn't long enough to determine if the winner is better at these high competition levels. Especially when it goes hill-hill or loser on the mini-hill, a small number of rolls going the other way could easily reverse the outcome. If Shane didn't miscue on the 5 in the 20th game with Lechner, he probably would have beaten the eventual finalist by winning 11 straight games. If Lechner hadn't miscued (also on the 5, iirc) he would have probably tied Shaw late in the match and been favored to win from there (breaking as good as he was).
I doubt anyone can be more than say, picking a number, a 20% odds favorite to win a big event going in, with maybe 5 co-favored at the top, and maybe another 10 close on their heels. Has even a dominant player ever won just half of the big tournaments in a year in their best career year (other than Karen Corr sweeping the WPA tourneys, once)? Efren won just one US Open, for example (along with a few finals losses as well). I think sustained top 10 finishes (including some wins) might be the better gauge than wins per se.