A blistering final round 63 left Adam Scott just short of claiming the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic on Sunday.
Scott hit seven birdies and an eagle in his bogey-free final round of nine-under but still found himself one shot behind Justin Thomas who secured his first PGA title.
Thomas bagged a six-foot par putt on the final hole for the win, finishing the day at six-under to be 26-under for the tournament.
Scott took the lead on the 14th after Thomas's double bogey on the same hole but the American rallied with three consecutive birdies to take the victory.
The 2013 Masters winner also had a long eagle chance slide on the 18th, leaving him without a tournament victory in 2015.
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"I threw everything I could at it today. I'm playing well, and that's nice, because I haven't played that well for awhile," said Scott, 35.
Scott is among many players in the field hoping to take momentum into the World Golf Championships event in Shanghai next week.
"I would love to get into contention there and try and win," he said.
"So this is a step in the right direction."
Thomas said he steeled himself after finding the water five holes from the finish.
"But I just kept telling myself I controlled the tournament before that shot, so I just need to get back in it," said Thomas, 22, who set a course record 61 in the second round.
"I had four more holes to try to make some more birdies and was fortunate enough to do it."
Kevin Na and Brendan Steele tied for third at 24-under. Na had a 67, and Steele shot 68.
Thomas opened with rounds of 68, 61 and 67 to share the third-round lead with Steele.
