Ireland’s Shane Lowry says he was “very close to doing something very special” at the Masters.
Lowry finished joint 16th – 10 shots behind winner Jon Rahm – after shooting a one-over-par 73 in the final round at Augusta on Sunday.
Lowry made three-putt bogeys at the third and fifth holes, bogeyed the 14th and double-bogeyed the par-five 15th.
“The hardest part for me to take is that I was very close,” said the 2019 Open champion.
“It might not look like that with the result or the finish, but I felt like it and that is hard.
“It’s extremely disappointing when you’re out there and feeling it.
“I put a lot into this this week and, when I birdied 11, I thought, ‘you never know here’. Great putt on 12, then 14 and 15 just killed me.
“I had to go for it on 15. I felt like if I made eagle there, and you go back to thinking of lads like Charl Schwartzel birdieing the last four to win and you feel like maybe you can do something special.
“I tried and I failed. I’ll definitely try again.”
Lowry, who finished third in last year’s Masters, said time is running out for him to win famous Green Jacket.
“I’ve probably only got another six or seven years at my peak,” he said.
“I love these weeks. I hate having to wait another year for this to come around.
“I’ve come here the last two years with a good game plan and I’ve executed it very well. I’ve had two decent weeks; I play good golf. My putter let me down this week.
“If I went out and shot four under I probably would have been chuffed with myself.
“It is how I feel like my season has been gone. There has been a lot of good stuff there and then not very good finishes.”