Min Woo Lee has fallen short after a compelling duel over four rounds with Jon Rahm, eventually crushed by the sheer brilliance of the local hero at the Spanish Open in Madrid.
Australia's rising talent Lee had to settle for third at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on Sunday as former world No.1 Rahm celebrated a dazzling third triumph in his home Open, matching the record of the late, great Seve Ballesteros.
Lee, who'd matched Rahm shot for shot while playing alongside him in every round, only crumbled over the final nine-hole stretch as the Spaniard hit the after-burners and powered to a final-round nine-under par 62 for a remarkable 25-under total of 259.
Frenchman Matthieu Pavon finished second, six shots adrift after a 65, while Lee, enjoying his best finish of the season, ended on 18-under after a 68, his fourth round in the sixties following a 67, 65 and 66.
But it felt an anti-climactic finale for the 24-year-old Aussie, who had been exceptional all week throughout his duelling with Rahm and was still only a shot behind the overnight leader after he eagled the seventh with a meandering putt from the fringe.
But that was as close as he got once Rahm began playing golf of a wholly different order from then on, eventually recording eight birdies and an eagle on an emotional day for him.
He holed a 50ft birdie putt at the sixth and another monster of 35ft at the 11th, and once he eagled the 14th, it finally took the wind out of Lee's sails as he missed a short putt and ended with a bogey on the same hole.
"It's emotional, it's emotional ... going up the 18th hole, I knew what was about to happen and to get it done like that, I just can't describe," Rahm told Sky Sports, having earlier conceded that Lee's performances over the week had only driven him to play his very best.
Able to match Ballesteros's career record of three Open wins, he added: "It was the goal coming in, Seve's a great hero of mine - and to do something in just a few years that he took his whole career to do is quite humbling, I'm not going to lie.
"I understand it might not be the strongest field I play all year but sometimes this can be the hardest to win. I'm at home, I'm supposed to win and to come out and play a Sunday like I just did ... it's hard to describe."
Lee, one shot behind overnight as he sought to become the first Australian winner of the Spanish Open since Rodger Davis in 1990, didn't have the spark of his earlier rounds.
And his challenge was fatally wounded by his poor driving at two par-fives, on the fourth and 14th, although he did deliver three birdies to go with his lone eagle, including one at the final hole.
Ultimately, though, he couldn't live with Rahm who recorded rounds of 64, 68, 65 and 62 in a performance that suggested it won't be long before he is challenging to be number one again.
