Adam Scott of Australia was proud of his efforts after finishing two shots behind eventual US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel on Sunday.
Scott, 30, began the final day at Augusta National Golf Club five shots off the pace in a tie for sixth place.
As Rory McIlroy imploded to give up a four-shot advantage, Scott's second five-under-par round of 67 in succession saw him move outright first.
But it proved to be just one of the 15 times the lead would change hands in a thrilling conclusion to the tournament, with South African Schwartzel holing birdies on the last four holes to claim the green jacket.
"I played well today and that's all I could ask for," Scott said.
"Obviously I can't control Charl, and when you birdie the last four holes at the Masters and you're around the lead, that usually wins."
"Nothing I can do about it. I hung in there as long as I could and kind of had a look at it on the last but not my best effort; but still, I've got to be pretty proud with the way I played over the weekend."
Scott ended up in a tie for second alongside countryman Jason Day at 12-under for the tournament, with both men falling short in their attempt to become the first Australian to don the green jacket.
The pair could tell from a feverish atmosphere among the usually sedate Georgian spectators that they were part of a unique finish at Augusta.
"I was trying not to look at leaderboards too much," Scott said.
"But it's easy to figure out with roars and groans and stuff what's going on out there."
"I just tried to play solid, and I did everything pretty good. You can do things better here or there but under pressure, it's not easy, and I think I did well from every position I was in. So I'm pretty happy with that."
"I held the lead with a few holes to go for the win, and I'm usually a pretty good closer. I didn't do a bad job today but Charl did much better. Incredible finish. So like I said, I'm really proud of the way I played today, but disappointed to not get it done when I was right there at the end."
