Adam Scott has been left to lament a series of "unthinkable" bogeys as he fell agonisingly short of a 15th PGA Tour win in Colorado.
The Australian's tie for second at Castle Pines Golf Club's BMW Championship - one shot behind Keegan Bradley - catapulted him inside the FedEx Cup top 30 to start 14th at the end-of-season Tour Championship in Atlanta later this week.
It also secured him an 11th-straight Presidents Cup berth for the International Team, the second-most in event history behind Phil Mickelson (12).
But, after holding a three-shot lead after two rounds, Scott (72) couldn't help but feel aggrieved as the chance to snap a four-year US title drought went begging.
The 44-year-old began with an eagle to grab the lead but gave Bradley (72) some breathing room with three-straight bogeys to start the back nine.
Scott recovered with some brilliant bunker play to again push the American but another mid-range putt for par at the 15th slipped by the hole - as did his brave effort on 18 - and Bradley was able to bogey the last and win by one.
"Not quite the roller coaster that Saturday was, but 10, 11, 12 kind of blew it for me there," Scott said.
"I was in position with wedges on every hole and made three bogeys.
"That's almost unthinkable, really."
Scott produced some exquisite saves from bunkers and was happy with his work off the tee.
"I definitely struggled on the greens on the weekend, just didn't quite have the confidence in some of those putts," he sighed.
"It's amazing it came down to one shot, but I felt like my bogeys on 10, 11, 12 gave Keegan a bit of breathing space and the pressure wasn't really on him, and he didn't make any mistakes."
Scott rated his 11th-straight Presidents Cup berth "a highlight in the career" and admitted his second runner-up finish after a second at the Scottish Open had rescued "a very frustrating year".
"I'm disappointed not to have won today, but I'm pretty happy to be going to East Lake because that wasn't on the cards a couple weeks ago," he said.
"I've played well ... you kind of grind all year and then finally the last four events my game has really turned around and looked solid.
"A lot can happen in a few weeks out here, and all of a sudden I've gone from a very frustrating year had I not."
