Monday 9 April 2018 01:13, UK
Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth both applied the pressure to Patrick Reed during the final round at the Masters but ultimately came up just short.
Fowler finished one shot behind Reed on 14 under after rattling in his sixth birdie in 11 holes at the 18th for a five-under 67, while Spieth equalled the lowest fourth round at Augusta National with an eight-under 64 to end up on 13 under.
The pair enjoyed contrasting fortunes on the 18th hole with Fowler's birdie forcing Reed to make a par at the same hole to win the tournament, but Spieth bogeyed it to miss out on a share of the course record.
Fowler has faced questions about his ability to compete over the weekend and was pleased to prove himself over the final two rounds, although he now has eight top-five finishes in a major to his name without winning one.
"It was a solid weekend," he told Sky Sports. "I felt like I've been catching some heat for not having the best of weekends and I think the stats have shown that Saturday and Sunday haven't been my strong rounds as of late.
"But to stick to our game-plan and keep executing and making the swings that I'm accustomed to, and should be making on the weekends, it was nice to put together a solid weekend - 65, 67 here when it was still playing tough.
"The greens were softer and a little slower than maybe what they normally are, but it's still Augusta. You have to go round and execute and I'm very pleased with how I played."
Spieth played the front nine in five-under 31 and added four birdies in five holes from the 12th, just missing out on eagle attempts at the 13th and 15th as well as nailing lengthy birdie putts at the 12th and 16th.
But a poor tee shot on the 18th, where he insists he was unaware of the leaderboard situation, proved costly and he went on to miss an eight-foot putt for par.
He said: "I stood on 10 tee and it's not an easy tee shot when you are under pressure to just force a hook, three-wood around there. And when I hit a really good shot there I thought to myself, 'okay let's play these next three holes in even par and then we're going to get at least two or three more opportunities, maybe shoot three under on the back nine that puts me at eight [under] and then we'll just see how that holds up'.
"I had no idea where I stood. I knew that it was a dream front nine coming out today and then I just played 10, 11, 12 beautifully and actually played it under par and played Amen Corner in two under. It gave me an opportunity to do something special today.
"I had no idea where I was [on 18]. I could have been three back and I could have been ahead by two and the way (caddie) Michael (Greller) was talking to me I still couldn't tell.
"That tee shot gave me some trouble this week. I drove the ball beautifully today. I probably should have played a draw off that tee but no regrets in the round. I got kind of a tough break there and shot an eight-under 64 on Sunday at Augusta.
"I need to look at today from a really positive viewpoint going forward to set up the rest of the year."
