Leona Maguire ran out of holes in her bid to win the KPMG Women's Irish Open for the first time.
On the back foot after a disastrous second round 75, Maguire came from ten shots behind to get within one shot of the lead in the closing stages at Dromoland Castle on Saturday.
But despite birdieing four of her last six holes, Maguire finished one shot away off 14-under-par which would have got her into a play-off.
Czech golfer Klara Spilkova won the tournament after getting the better of a three-way play-off with Nicole Broch Estrup and Ursula Wikstroem.
Starting the day two shots off the lead, Maguire got off to a bad start with a three-put bogey on the first and an errant drive leading to another drop shot on the second hole.
The slow start saw her tumble down a densely-packed leaderboard, so the birdie was needed on the par three seventh hole.
Making the turn in one over par, Maguire then birdied the 10th, 13th and 14th holes to make much-needed ground on the leaders.
With a huge crowd following her around the Clare venue, Maguire missed a birdie opportunity on the 15th hole before finding the par five 16th in two shots to pick up another shot.
Needing in all likelihood to find two more birdies, Maguire gave a long-range birdie putt a run on the 17th only to knock it well past.
The Cavan golfer showed great nerve to hole the return putt, but at that stage there were six players one shot ahead of Maguire tied at 13-under-par.
Maguire, 27, needed an eagle on the par five 18th hole and had to find a chip-in at the last.
The Solheim Cup star's couldn't perform the miracle, but she was able to hole another putt to sign for a four-under-par 68 and put in a superb performance over the weekend.
She reflected after her round: "I gave it my very best shot today, especially on the back nine. I was just a little bit too far back after Friday.
"But if you had told me I would have finished 13-under on Friday night, I would have taken it.
"There's been some great golf in there. The Irish fans had a lot to cheer about this week. They came out in their droves. I think the first Irish Open in ten years has been a roaring success."
She added: "I knew I had to make birdies. That was the only plan. I wasn't looking at leaderboards or that.
"I personally thought sixteen-under-par was the number going out, and I was just trying to get there.
"The front nine hasn't been my friend this week, but hopefully when I come back next year it will be a little more kinder to me."
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