Rose (left) and Harrington were Europe's best chances going into the final round at Augusta

Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington played in the penultimate group at the Masters but were not able to break Europe's eight-year major drought.

England's Rose, 26, finished in a tie for fifth, while Irishman Harrington shared seventh behind winner Zach Johnson of the USA.

"I really learned a lot about myself today," said Rose, who carded 73 to end four over, three shots adrift.

"I really feel I have what it takes to go on and win majors from here."

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The South African-born Englishman began disastrously with two double bogeys inside his first three holes but he showed immense grit to fight back to within one shot of Johnson's one-over lead with a birdie on the 16th.

But Rose's challenge died with a double bogey on the 17th following an errant drive to slip three behind with just the par-four 18th left.

I will walk away from this tournament knowing I have a game capable of winning the Masters Padraig Harrington

Rose, who was joint leader after the first round, said he had felt calm and relaxed all day and sensed he could pull off something special.

"But the 17th was unfortunate because I haven't driven the ball well on that hole all week," he added.

It was Rose's best major finish since he burst on to the scene as a gangly teenager at the Royal Birkdale Open in 1998 when he tied for fourth as an amateur.

"That was just pure raw amateurness coming through and I felt no pressure there, whereas this feels more of a sustained effort from me," he said.

"Every time I made a bogey or a double bogey I bounced back. I kept my head up, I kept grinding and I kept believing in myself."

I thought it could be my year to win here Luke Donald

The 35-year-old Harrington also got off to a bad start, dropping two strokes in the first four holes, but he hauled himself back into contention with an eagle at the par-five 13th.

But bogeys at 15, where he had struggled all week, and 16 ended his hopes and the Irishman finished on five over.

"I will walk away from this tournament knowing I have a game capable of winning the Masters, so that is a positive note for me," said Harrington, the 2006 European Order of Merit winner.

Welsh Masters debutant Bradley Dredge and England's Luke Donald were also within striking range of the leaders on Sunday morning, starting three and four shots respectively behind overnight leader Stuart Appleby of Australia.

Donald, 29, rocketed into contention with an eagle at the eighth but his challenge was derailed by a triple-bogey seven at the ninth when his ball rolled off the green three times.

He ended with a round of one-over 73 for seven over, while Dredge ran up an 83 which included back-to-back double bogeys on 10 and 11.

"Ultimately, I am a little disappointed," said Donald.

"I thought it could be my year to win here. I felt good about my game, but I wasn't getting enough putts in."

Donald's previous best Masters finish was a tie for third place on his debut in 2005, the best performance by a European player since Jose Maria Olazabal won in 1999.

Olazabal's victory was the 11th in 20 years for European players, a sequence that began with Severiano Ballesteros's first win in 1980 and carried on through Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo.

Europe's losing streak in the majors is now up to 30 events, stretching back to Paul Lawrie's 1999 Open win.