It is 15 years ago now, but the final round of the 2011 Masters remains one of the most memorable days of my professional career. Apart from the fact that I teed off as many as seven shots off the pace, nearly every other piece of my ideal puzzle was in place.

In the sixth-last group I was drawn alongside Fred Couples, maybe the most popular guy in the field with the galleries. Right in front of us was Tiger Woods, guaranteeing a highly charged atmosphere. And apart from all that, this was the last day of the Masters, for goodness sake. It was great just to be involved.

If memory serves, I arrived in Augusta playing somewhere close to decent. I hadn’t won on the PGA Tour, but my form had been consistently good. Steady without being spectacular. So I was feeling positive about my chances on a course I’ve always felt suited my game.

Sure enough, I did perform well over the first three days. But two three-putts and a four-putt had slowed my progress. The four-putt, of course, was especially damaging and led to a double-bogey. It came on the par-5 second hole on day two. After chipping to six feet above the cup, I needed four attempts to hole out. Which can happen in the Masters when you are putting downhill from the ‘wrong’ side of the flag.

To be honest, I didn’t rate my chances of winning too highly. Rory McIlroy was leading by four shots and there were 10 players between him and me – including my fellow Aussies, Adam Scott and Jason Day. So it looked like I was out of the tournament. But I was still excited. I was going pretty well. This was late on Sunday at Augusta National. And I was playing with Fred. How bad could it get?

I actually have no memory of my own play on the front nine. I know I was out in level-par, but my vivid recollection is of watching the group in front. Tiger went to the turn in 31, five-under par. As you can imagine, the roars were loud and long.

I remember the first one echoed from the sixth green as we stood on the fifth green. We didn’t need to be told he had made birdie. But that was nothing as to what we heard on the par-5 eighth. As we walked to the tee, we saw Tiger make this big ‘snap-hook’ swing from the middle of the fairway. There was something like a 15-second delay before the noise got louder and louder. Even from the tee we could tell he had hit it close.

The cheers didn’t end there, though. Walking up the eighth fairway, we could see that Tiger was now right in contention. As the scoreboards on the 11th and 15th and 18th holes recorded that fact, the roars echoed all over the course. Suddenly, the atmosphere was outrageous, all of it set up by Tiger.

A pairing with 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples was just one of the highlights of the final round 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, Charl Schwartzel – more on him later – had chipped in for birdie from right of the first green and holed out his approach for an eagle 2 at the third. So the roars never really stopped all day. It remains the most encouraging environment for great golf I’ve ever experienced at Augusta for that reason. It was crazy.

As it turned out, Tiger quietened down on the back-nine, making only one more birdie to shoot 67. That was the same score I ended up with, but I got there in a very different way. Still even-par for the day on the 12th tee, I was thinking to myself how cool it was just to be out there. I had one of the best seats in the house, but I had no thoughts of victory.

Then I proceeded to make five birdies in succession. After the first four, I was one shot off the lead (Rory had dropped six shots in three holes from the turn). Which brings me to one of the best shots I’ve ever hit in my life.

Mainly because of Fred – who got a standing ovation on almost every tee – the crowd was going berserk as we headed to the 16th. I had the honour and hit my tee shot to maybe two feet. It was perfect, the one every player tries to hit on that famous hole. The ball landed 15 feet above the cup and rolled down the slope towards the flag. Then Fred did the same thing. The spectators, all of them standing, did not stop cheering until we got to the green and marked our balls. It was nuts. Even now, I get goosebumps thinking about it.

When I made my putt for the fifth of that five-birdie run, I was tied for the lead. And, as you can imagine, my feelings had changed. Suddenly, I felt a different pressure. Which is not to say everyone doesn’t always get nervous just playing in the Masters. The course does that to you. Everything there gets magnified in a hurry. Drive into the wrong place; or miss a green in the wrong spot; or putt a little too far past, and you are immediately anxious about the next shot.

So I was excited. I actually thought I might win, even if I was tied with maybe four other guys, all of them with more holes to play than me. My aim was to make par on each of the last two holes. Do that and I would probably still be at least tied.

In the end, I got up-and-down at each of the last two holes for pars, which by then felt like I was one shot short. Wrong. I actually lost by four shots, as Schwartzel birdied each of the last four holes. I wasn’t the only one he surged past, either. As I did, Adam parred the last two holes and lost by two. Jason finished birdie-birdie and also lost by two. So it was hard for me to feel too bad about my end result, a tie for fourth place alongside Tiger and Luke Donald.

Looking back, I’m proud to have been part of such a memorable Masters, even if it is one no one ever seems to really talk about. But they should. From my privileged vantage point on the ‘inside’, this was one of the great Masters. It was the kind of final day we all hope for every year. Just about everyone (other than Rory) performed well. Tiger got things going. The iconic roars were everywhere. And the winner won in a way any champion would be proud of.

So how could I feel down about any of it? I played well in contention, deep into the final round at Augusta National, in the process fulfilling more than a few of my childhood dreams. Just not the ultimate dream. But it remains for me one of the most amazing days I ever had on any golf course. I drove out of Magnolia Lane that evening feeling nothing but satisfaction. No regrets. 

Photographs by Getty Images/Ben Jared, jamie squire, augusta national