AUGUSTA, Ga. – Adam Hadwin earned his way to the 82nd Masters based on his status as the No.43-ranked golfer in the world.

But after his second visit to one of golf’s most hallowed venues and his second time playing the weekend and even an oh-so-brief stint as the solo leader, the 30-year-old feels like he truly deserves to be knocking heads with the world’s best.

“I felt like a better player this year,” said Hadwin after posting a one-under-par 71 on Sunday. “Last year I overthought a lot of things, the slopes and where to be and this year I just focused on where to hit it and hit good golf shots and all of that.

“I felt like I belonged here a little bit,” he said. “But that just comes with gaining experience from last year.”

Hadwin started the week off with a 69 and was tied for fourth on Thursday. There was a brief moment on Friday when the field was backing up and before Hadwin teed off in the final group that he was alone in first at 3-under par; but then he ran into some of the same problems as everyone else in tough conditions and he carded a 75. His undoing was on the weekend as the scoring averages dropped and Hadwin failed to make enough birdies to keep up, playing the final 36 holes at one-under par.

All told he finished tied for 24th, an improvement over a tie for 36th in his rookie year at Augusta National, and most importantly gained another four rounds of experience at a championship that almost universally demands repetitions on it to be successful.

Hadwin hit the ball well – he tied for 20th in driving accuracy and 13th in greens in regulation – but had a hard time converting his chances as he averaged 1.84 putts per GIR, which was 34th.

“It’s close, it’s very close,” he said of his play. “I’m not sure I made a putt outside 10 feet this week. It’s going to be tough to compete when you do that. I kept saying to [my caddie] ‘we’re right there.’ Had I just hit a couple close and got into a groove I might have been able to shoot four- or five-under today.

“Look, top-25 against the best players in the world on one of the toughest golf courses we’ll play, you have to find the positive in that,” he said. “I battled for four days, it could have been a lot worse. I hung in there kept trying to hit good shots and this week wasn’t my week.”