AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Retief Goosen didn't get a chance to miss an 18-inch putt at the Masters.

Heck, he needed a driver to get the ball close to the cup on some of the greens.

Goosen, the U.S. Open champion, failed quickly in his bid to win a second major Sunday after starting the final round tied for the lead with Tiger Woods.

The South African did manage to finish second to Woods, coming through with a couple of late birdies for a 2-over-par 74. But Goosen wasn't the same player who dipped into the 60s the first three rounds.

"I hit my irons terrible," he said after finishing three strokes behind the winner. "I was always putting from 40 feet."

Goosen won his first major last summer at Southern Hills, overcoming one of the sport's most memorable blunders. With a chance to win on the 72nd hole, he missed an 18-inch putt.

Goosen could laugh about his gaffe when he beat Mark Brooks in an 18-hole playoff the following day. There wouldn't be another chance for redemption at Augusta, however.

"I pretty much deflated myself out there the first few holes," Goosen said. "I was fairly happy finishing with a couple of birdies and coming in second."

On his first shot of the day, Goosen pulled his drive into the trees. He put a 4-iron on the green, but 40 feet away from the cup. On Augusta's slick, sloping greens, that's almost a guaranteed three-putt.

At the par-3 fourth, Goosen again yanked his tee shot to the left, winding up in a terrible position: 40 feet from the flag on an upper shelf. He didn't get his first putt anywhere near the cup and took two more to get down for a bogey.

In just four holes, Goosen had gone from tied for the lead to four strokes behind. Chasing Woods, that was an insurmountable deficit.

Goosen had another three-putt bogey at No. 8 and wound up using his putter 34 times. That was more than anyone on the course except Jesper Parnevik, who required the same numbers of putts.

"I hit my irons really terrible and really gave myself no chance for birdies," Goosen said. "Tiger played really solid and was never in any trouble."

Goosen will head to Europe for the next seven weeks, then return to the United States a week before he defends his Open title.

"I need to sort my iron play out a little bit," Goosen said.

The South African was playing just his fourth Masters, and this was by far his best performance. He missed the cut twice and finished 40th the other time.

"Every time I come here, I'll have a little bit more of an idea how my putts will react in certain positions," Goosen said. "Like the first hole. It broke more than I thought it would. There's a few other holes, so I think, yeah, experience has a lot to do around this course.

"Maybe next year."