AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 8 (Reuters) - Matt Kuchar achieved

his best finish at a major at the Masters on Sunday and

indicated he might yet deliver on the promise he first showed at

Augusta National in 1998.

The American finished tied for third just two shots behind

eventual winner Bubba Watson and the runner-up in the playoff

Louis Oosthuizen after making a strong challenge on the back

nine.

The 33-year-old eagled the par-five 15th to briefly get

himself into the lead but then a bogey on the 16th and pars on

the last three holes left him just short.

It was a great recovery from the blow of a double-bogey on

the ninth which could easily have knocked him out of contention.

"It was a good run," said Kuchar. "I so wish I could have

hole nine over again.

"I three-putted from about seven feet. Felt like I hit my

approach shot in a place I couldn't get up-and-down, and as I

was walking off with a double, it was a real killer. But I

stayed in it."

The Floridian, from Winter Park, has shown that ability to

stick with it throughout a career which has yet to really live

up to high expectations.

Back in 1998, Kuchar played the Masters as an amateur and

finished tied for 21st, a result which prompted his move into

the professional ranks where he was viewed as a talent of the

future.

Yet the decade that followed was one of missed cuts and

failed attempts to qualify for majors sprinkled with a couple of

wins on the PGA Tour.

A belated breakthrough year came in 2010, when he finished

tied for sixth in the U.S. Open and tied for 10th in the PGA

Championship.

"I've always felt like I was never going to give up," he

said.

"I've played a lot of rounds of golf where things weren't

going well and I stuck with it knowing that there was going to

be a situation and a time like this ... it was great to see

those efforts pay off.

"Those amateur days were a real treat. That was a special

time. To be an amateur, to have a shot, to be playing well in

the Masters was really special, and especially for a first time.

"When I come back here, I still feel like that same

19-year-old kid, and now to be back and to have a chance to win

the title was really exciting."

(Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)