Fowler: First time I've felt ready to win a major

Rickie Fowler believes he is close to breaking his major duck following Sunday's runner-up finish at the Masters in Georgia.

It was another case of so near but yet so far for Rickie Fowler as Patrick Reed reigned supreme at the Masters, but the runner-up insists he is ready to win his first major title.

Sunday saw Fowler finish second to maiden major champion and countryman Reed, who prevailed by one stroke with a 15-under aggregate at Augusta National.

Fowler is no stranger to near-misses, having finished second at the U.S. Open and The Open in 2014, while he was tied for third at the US PGA Championship in the same year.

And the 29-year-old – a four-time PGA Tour winner – added the Masters to his growing list of close calls following a five-under-par 67 to close out the tournament in Georgia.

Reflecting on his quest for an elusive major crown, Fowler told reporters: "I am ready to go win a major, but this was kind of the first major week that I understood that and [have] known that and felt that.

"I would say previously, still feeling the nerves and dealing with, you know, tough rounds and things not going your way, but I think the big round for me was yesterday [Saturday]. 

"I didn't feel my best. I felt like I had to just really stick to my game plan and kind of fight through a few times where I may not have felt comfortable and just trying to gut it out, and obviously you could see, with a 65, I was very pleased with that.

"So I'm ready to go. I'm really looking forward to this year and the three majors that are left.  You know, Shinnecock [the venue for the U.S. Open] is one of my favourite golf courses in the U.S. It should be a very good major season."

Fowler played the final 10 holes in six under par, birdieing the last to leave Reed requiring a par to avoid a play-off and claim victory.

Reed stepped up and delivered, Fowler having to be content with holding off the fast-finishing Jordan Spieth – who rallied from nine shots adrift from the start of the day to almost complete the biggest final-round comeback in Masters history – for outright second position.

"It was a great week to get ourselves in the mix and to have a strong weekend, unlike last week," Fowler said. "I feel like we got the boxes checked that we wanted to last week in Houston coming into here at Augusta, and I was ready to go win. 

"Unfortunately, [I came up] one shot short, but we were able to keep P‑Reed honest out there, at least making him earn it. I mean, solo second feels and sounds better than tied for second, so it was nice to edge out Jordan on the last."