Jon Rahm briefly tied Scottie Scheffler's lead in Sunday's PGA Championship final round before a poor finish dropped him back into a tie for 8th-place.
The Spaniard was charging with birdies at 8, 10 and 11 but momentum was halted after he could only manage pars at the drivable 14th and par 5 15th before finishing bogey, double, double.
The LIV Golf star admitted that it's a "tough pill to swallow" after being in the hunt but was in good spirits after his disappointing finish.
"It was really close. God, it's been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course, 15 holes," he said after closing with a 73.
"Even the first seven the day where I was swinging well and things weren't happening, but I kept myself in and made the pars that I needed and played really good golf from the 8th to the 15th.
"A lot of positive to take from this week. Pretty fresh wound right now. But there's been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year."
Rahm, who on Saturday said that his swing issues were the reason for his poor Major form and not his move to LIV Golf, explained how pulls to the left ultimately cost him while he admitted that nerves also played a factor.
"It's a couple of things," he said.
"If there's ever somebody that's sitting right here that tells you nerves weren't a part of it, they're clearly lying. It's the main thing we do as a professional sport; it's controlling what goes through your mind."
The two-time Major winner, who won the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines and the 2023 Masters, was unsurprisingly looking forward to getting back home to Arizona, where he'll look to reset and go again next month at Oakmont.
"I think it's the first time I've been in position to win a Major that close and haven't done it," he said.
"The only times I think I've been in the lead in a Major on a Sunday, I've been able to close it out, and this is a very different situation. So I don't know exactly.
"But if it's ever a time, that's what family's for is the best. Luckily I'm going to get home maybe on time to get the kids to bed or not, I'm not sure. To them, whatever I did today, win or lose, they don't care. So that's always a good perspective.
"I always like to go back a little bit on something that Charles Barkley likes to remind basketball players all the time.
"Like, I play golf for a living. It's incredible. Am I embarrassed a little bit about how I finished today? Yeah. But I just need to get over it, get over myself. It's not the end of the world.
"It's not like I'm a doctor or a first responder, where somebody if they have a bad day, truly bad things happen. I'll get over it. I'll move on.
"Again, there's a lot more positive than negative to think about this week. I'm really happy I put myself in position and hopefully learn from this and give it another go in the US Open."
