Baddeley, co-leader overnight with American Hunter Mahan going into Sunday's final round, tied for third after finishing birdie-par while Day ended up joint sixth after pressing hard over the closing stretch.
"I felt like I played good enough to win," Baddeley told reporters after narrowly missing a long-range birdie putt at the last which would have put him in the playoff for the title.
"I hit it pretty good all day, a couple of loose tee shots, but overall I hit it close. I just hit it on the wrong side of the holes. I had a lot of putts where I had to feed it into the hole.
"Two short misses on the back nine cost me. That was the golf tournament. Make those two short ones, I win."
The biggest consolation for Baddeley was that his good form at East Lake has probably earned him a long-cherished d ebut for the Internationals at the Presidents Cup in Australia from November 17-20.
Captain Greg Norman will complete his 12-man team to take on the United States when he announces his two wildcard picks on Tuesday, and he notably gave Baddeley a timely pep talk before the start of the Tour Championship.
"I definitely showed Greg that I did what I needed to do to come here and play well, and hopefully I'll get a positive phone call from Greg," Baddeley said.
"I'm pleased with where my game is at, and the positive thing is I feel like it's only going to get better."
CAME UNSTUCK
Day, one of the 10 automatic qualifiers on Norman's Internationals team, was one stroke off the pace on Sunday with two holes to go before he came unstuck on the treacherous closing stretch.
"I was looking at the leaderboard, seeing what I needed to do, and I made a good run on the back nine to try and catch the lead," the 23-year-old said.
"Unfortunately I hit a bad shot on 17 off the tee, and it was a very, very tough second shot," Day added, referring to his approach from the right rough which ended up in a greenside bunker.
"It's just golf. That's how it is. Obviously I'm a little disappointed that I bogeyed the last two holes, but I was trying to win out there.
"Anything other than a win was going to be disappointing for me, but overall this year has been a very successful year, and I'm looking forward to next year."
Day has been one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour this season, racking up 10 top-10 finishes including runner-up spots at the Masters and the U.S. Open.
He has been frustrated, though, not to have added another title to his breakthrough victory on the U.S. circuit at last year's Byron Nelson Championship.
"One of my goals was to win, and I had a good shot (at East Lake)," said Day, who is one of the most exciting prospects in the game with his attacking strategy and explosive shot-making.
"I've had a lot of fun this year. I've done well in majors, had a lot of good top 10s and I've contended in a lot of tournaments.
"Unfortunately I haven't finished them off, but hopefully if I can work hard over the off-season and do the right things, the little things that count, I can come back next year strong and win maybe one or two."
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