The Spaniard is still waiting for that elusive first major title - and he has never come closer than in 1999 at Medinah when he finished runner-up to Tiger Woods in the USPGA as a teenager.

At 32, he is now 0-for-54 in the majors.

He finished in the top 12 at the last three majors of 2011, and went into the third round at Augusta National a stroke behind the leaders.

But he took himself out of contention with a 75 that left him eight strokes back, and then told Spanish reporters: "That's the reality. I'm not good enough and today I know it. I've been trying for 13 years and I don't feel capable of winning. I don't know what happened to me. Maybe it's something psychological.

"After 13 years, my chances are over. I'm not good enough for the majors. That's it."

Following a closing 71 for a two-under-par finish, just outside the top 10, he was asked if he really believed what he had said. "Do you think I lie when I talk?" he replied.

"Everything I say I say because I feel it. If I didn't mean it I couldn't stand here and lie - like a lot of guys do. If I felt like I could win I would do it.

"Unfortunately at the moment unless I get really lucky, I can't really play much better than I played this week."