Luke Donald leaves Augusta with No. 1 ranking but without green jacket

Luke Donald exited Au­gus­ta with his No. 1 world ranking and two pairs of crystal goblets.

He didn’t leave with what he cherished most – a green jacket.

Donald posted a final-round 68 to finish at 3-over-par, a stark difference from last year’s tie for fourth at 10-under

“I’ll leave disappointed this week,” said Donald, who tied his lowest round at the Masters Tournament on Sunday. “This wasn’t what I wanted.

“It’s not a nice feeling waking up (Sunday) knowing whatever you shoot is probably not going to be good enough.”

Donald, 34, began the week as one of the pretournament favorites after losing his No. 1 ranking to Rory McIlroy last month but regaining it two weeks later with a win at The Transitions Cham­pion­ship – his fifth PGA Tour victory.

In his bid for a first major title, Donald opened the Masters with rounds of 75-73-75. Over those rounds, he posted two double bogeys on a pair of par-5 holes and had four three-putt greens – “careless mistakes,” he said.

“It wasn’t tidy enough the first three days,” he said. “There’s so small a margin out here at Augusta. That’s the difference between majors and normal events. The margins are just so much smaller, you can’t get away with as much.

“I’ve got to be able to bring the game I play at a normal tournament to the majors, and I’m getting closer each time. It just takes more and more experience.”

Donald opened the final round with three birdies on the front nine. At No. 15, he posted his second eagle of the tournament – earning his second pair of crystal goblets. On his third shot, Donald hit a bump-and-run with his driver from just off the green, 35 feet away. He chipped with his driver again at No. 18, when he hit his third shot to a foot.

“If I have an opportunity to land a lob wedge on the green, I’ll take that shot every time,” Donald said. “But with the two shots on 15 and 18, I didn’t have that option.”