He is the player who led the Masters for 68 holes but failed to win the tournament on Sunday

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Augusta National is a place of celebration for so many, whether it be players or fans, but it’s also seen its fair share of heartbreak.

Some might assume that missing the cut is by far the most painful way for players to exit the tournament.

However, sometimes, it’s those who narrowly miss out on victory who find the result most difficult to come to terms with.

Imagine how the golfer who led the Masters by 68 out of 72 holes felt after finishing runner-up.

• READ MORE: Phil Mickelson once admitted a lot of players would disagree with what he thinks is the ‘hardest’ shot at The Masters each year

The player who came the closest to winning the Masters Tournament

Ken Venturi spent almost every hole of the 1956 Masters Tournament in the lead before a final-round disaster cost him the trophy.

The amateur scored 66 (-6) on Thursday and 69 (-3) on Friday to put himself four strokes in front of second place Cary Middlecoff heading into the weekend.

He then shot an underwhelming three-over-par 75 on Saturday but so did Middlecoff, so he retained his significant advantage.

Unfortunately for Venturi, a final round 80 (+8) meant that he ended the competition on two over par, one stroke behind eventual winner Jack Burke Jr.

He still finished ahead of golf legends Sam Snead and Ben Hogan but that certainly wouldn’t have put a smile on his face at the time.

Unfortunately, it probably has to go down as the biggest meltdown in the history of the Masters Tournament.

Jordan Spieth and Fred Couples fell short at the Masters after holding the lead

Venturi (68) holds the record for the most holes leading the Masters without winning, but Jordan Spieth (65) and Fred Couples (61) are not far behind.

Spieth, who had won the Green Jacket the season before, had a five-shot lead going into the back nine on Sunday in 2016.

But the 31-year-old made bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes before a quadruple bogey on the 12th effectively handed victory to Englishman Danny Willett.

In fairness to Couples, he never had an overnight lead of more than two strokes and played solidly throughout the week. Mark O’Meara’s final-round 67 catapulted him to the win instead.