Staring down the pin on No. 13, he cracked. He pressed. Desperation overpowered logic. Trailing Vijay Singh by one stroke, Duval went for it and disaster ensued.

Debating his club choice until the point of impact, the 28-year-old Jacksonville native attempted to place his ball next to Singh's on the left side of the 13th green. From 196 yards out, Duval's five-iron prayer plopped into a tributary of Rae's Creek.

Passion over-rode rational judgment for the man who's sole mission this year has been to win the Masters.

``I just hit a bad golf shot,'' Duval said. ``It was the wrong time to do that and I feel like that was probably the only poor shot I hit this weekend.''

Duval's momentary loss of sanity effectively removed him from contention particularly when Singh birdied No. 13 to dip to nine-under par. Duval salvaged a bogey but Singh hung on to claim his first green jacket with a four-round total of 278, 10-shots under par.

Seemingly haunted by the winds of Amen Corner, Duval repeatedly stepped away from his approach shot on 13 to avoid hitting into the gales. His tactics only delayed the inevitable, a six-under-par 281 finish.

For Sunday would not be his coronation as Masters champion. Birdies putts on Nos. 6, 8 and 9 momentarily nudged Duval into a first-place tie with Singh. Singh answered each of those assaults on his perch atop the leaderboard with birdies of his own, maintaining at least a one-shot cushion over Duval.

Because his name failed to reach the top of the leaderboard, Duval never believed he was tied with Singh in the time between his putts and the eventual champion's.

``I never thought of it in those terms simply because I always expected him to make those putts,'' Duval said. ``I don't think I thought about it like that because I never saw a chance to catch him.''

Ernie Els took sole possession of second place at seven-under par (281) when Duval missed a four-foot putt on No. 18. Loren Roberts tied with Duval at six-under after firing 69 in Sunday's final round.

Tom Lehman also shot 69 on Sunday to claim sixth place, two strokes behind Tiger Wood's four-under-par 284. A strong back nine fueled Lehman's final-round surge. He birdied Nos. 12, 13, 16 and 18.

``It was nice to finish on a positive note,'' Lehman said. ``It was a nice way to salvage the round.''