An English writer – I will save his embarrassment by not naming him, but it was John Hopkins of The Times – prefaced his question to me in the post-Masters press conference by calling me Phil.

‘It’s Lee,’ I said. ‘You’ll recognise Phil when he comes in next. He’ll be wearing a green jacket.’

And so the much-coveted jacket of Augusta was draped around Phil, and good luck to him and his family.  I had to make do with the much less coveted runners up position. So it’s been 3rd, 3rd, 2nd in my last three majors. I can’t wait for Pebble Beach in June to try my best to continue that descending sequence of figures.

Don’t worry, I intend to keep knocking on the door until it eventually opens. Phil said to me in the scoring hut after we had finished that he'd been that man who kept knocking on the door, finishing seconds and thirds and wondering if it ever would work out. Then suddenly it did and winning majors became easier in his mind. He also told me that I'd been playing some of the best golf out of anybody recently and just to keep plugging away and eventually it would happen.

Unfortunately I didn't get off to the fast start like I would have wished for being one shot ahead at the start of the day. If I’d been one or two under after eight maybe things would have turned out differently, but I didn't quite drive the ball as well as I have been doing over the first few holes. A bogey on one and four and then a three-putt on nine after hitting two good shots in there made for a disappointing journey to the turn.

Perhaps I realised it was not to be my day on the par five 15th. I hit a really good drive and then a towering six iron which if it has gone any higher would have needed a licence for space travel. The ball should have landed softly, but instead it took a hard bounce and released through the back. Then my chip checked too quickly and then my putt hit a spike mark and shot straight left.

I did put a bit of pressure on Phil, but he played well on the back nine and took his chances when he had them. Add a bit of luck and some great shots when he needed to and there you have the making of a Masters champion.

Phil won it more than I lost it. It was a fair and square victory because great players pull off great shots at the right time. I don’t think I’ve seen a better one round here than the one he hit on to the 13th from behind a tree and off the pine straw.

Before the round, I was excitedly nervous but once we got out there and got going, I felt really calm and just enjoyed the experience. The crowd were obviously on Phil's side more than mine, but they were very respectful and they clapped both of us on to the greens and clapped us when we hit good shots. It was a good day on the golf course out there.

The closer I get to winning these major championships, the more I want the next one to come around. When you’ve come so close, there's a tinge of disappointment straight off and I was disappointed walking up to the last green. But now I can say that I didn't do too much wrong. I can walk away with a lot of positive thoughts and memories from this Masters.

The thing is, if you sat me down at the start of the year and asked me to rate which ones suit me, I would probably put the Masters last and say it was the one that suited me the least. So to finish second is obviously a massive boost for the rest of the year. I've just got to keep doing the things I'm doing. I think my short game can still improve. It was a master class from Phil out there around the greens and that's the sort of standard you've got to be up to.

I don't think you ever stop learning, so technically, I think I can still get better in all aspects of the game. I’ve just got to fine tune everything. It's a very fine line between finishing second and winning. I just haven’t got to get lured into the thought that you have to do something drastic to do it. I think I just have to keep working on what I'm working on with my coach Pete Cowen and going to the gym and getting stronger. The law of averages says the door is going to open one day.

And what better way to unwind than take a break in the Caribbean and then travel on to Quail Hollow?  Well, the Icelandic volcano put paid to that as it grounded the planes in the UK.  So Laurae and I travelled down to London for an overnighter, where I recorded "A Question of Sport".  I shan't tell if my team won, you'll have to look out for that!

"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men..."   Robert  Burns was right!