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Cameron Smith has settled for a fifth top-10 Masters finish after the green jacket once again eluded the Australian golf superstar.
Smith threatened a final-round charge when he produced a spectacular hole-out eagle on the par-5 second at Augusta National on Sunday.
But for the second day running he couldn't buy a putt as world No.1 Scottie Scheffler stormed to a second Masters victory in three years.
Smith failed to jag even one birdie. A run of 13 pars after recording his lone bogey on the fifth was never enough to challenge the leaders.
He tied for sixth at two under with fellow LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau after signing for a Sunday 71.
The latest top-10 result follows his tie for fifth in 2018, runner-up showing in 2020 — when he became the first player ever to register four rounds in the 60s — a joint 10th in 2021, and an equal-third two years ago.
Smith had picked up two shots on third-round leader Scheffler during a thrilling front nine to be just four strokes off the pace.
But he couldn't carry the momentum down the stretch as Scheffler won by four shots from exciting young Swede Ludvig Aberg.
Countryman Cam Davis shared 12th spot following a final-round 75.
After starting the day at two under and just five back of Scheffler, Davis dropped shots on the first and fifth holes to slip off the leaderboard.
He nudged back to level with the card for the tournament with a birdie on the par-5 eighth but, like Smith, was unable to fashion a back-nine birdie blitz to reel in the leaders.
Davis would have joined Smith in the top 10 if not for a lamentable four-putt on the 17th.
Fellow Australians Min Woo Lee and Jason Day produced bright finishes to leave Augusta with their spirits intact ahead of next month's PGA Championship, the second major of the year.
After starting his Masters campaign with a broken finger and battling the flu, Lee closed with a three-under 69 to climb to four over and a share of 22nd place with six others including Adam Scott (72).
"Early on I didn't have enough trust in the finger but after making plenty of bogeys to start off, I decided to give it a good go," Lee said.
"I was already on the back foot but since then I shot level par. Pretty decent. It feels good.
"There's a couple of things I need to clean up, but overall it's a solid sign."
Day also posted a final-round 69 to finish at five over and a tie for 30th.
"The short game's nice. Putting's nice," Day said.
"I just made too many cheap errors out there, not enough capitalising on the opportunities I had, especially with the par-fives.
"And then just soft bogeys. Just clean that up, tighten the swing up a little bit and I should be good to go.
"The game is shaping up for a good summer. It will be interesting."
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AAP