A good golf tournament comes down to putting on the 18th green for the win. A great one goes into overtime, and that’s exactly what happened Sunday at Augusta. Angel Cabrera started and finished the day on top and walked away with the coveted Grass-Colored Jacket. The first Argentine to win the Masters did not gain this achievement easily, however. He received a little help from Kenny Perry, who shot par on the front 9 and had a few great shots at the beginning of the back, but slipped in the end and bogeyed the last two holes, tying him with both Cabrera and Chad Campbell. The three entered a two-hole playoff where Perry’s luck did not change from the last two holes. Cabrera sealed the deal on the 10th hole with a par, while Perry’s unfortunate timing of bad luck cost him a bogey.
Earlier, the battle between the Super Friends faced a Legion of Doom as Tiger and Phil both surged forward early in the afternoon, looking as if they would both replace the leaders in no time. To be honest, if Perry and Cabrera had not had such great leads to begin the day, they’d both be disappointing afterthoughts. Both golfers came within one or two strokes from leading but their power boost gave out on the last two holes. Tiger, like Cabrera, bogeyed the last two holes with his most disappointing shot coming from the rough on the 18th, where his attempt to get on the green resulted in a three-tree pinball-like shot that launched into the crowd. Phil’s moment of brilliance came to an end after a beautiful stroke from the fairway on the 17th that put him only five feet from the hole with a chance to birdie. On what seemed like a routine putt, Phil misfired and went to the last hole a bit rattled.
However captivating Phil and Tiger can be when they’re on, the Main Event and spotlight of the day was on the deserving three who made it to the three-way playoff. Each had their individual “no-pressure” moment on the course when the game could have been sealed early. Campbell found himself spectacularly close to two eagles on the back 9. Perry was enjoying a relatively comfortable lead before bogeying the last two. In an interview after the third round on Saturday, Perry admitted that his short game was the weakest aspect of his skill set. Appropriately, it was his short game indeed that cost him the cruise to the clubhouse.
From all the records set this week to the individual storylines, Augusta has given the world yet another thrilling Masters Tournament. Cabrera and Perry may have not had near the crowd Woods and Mickelson had, but they showed, through incredible focus, that they could hang with the powerhouses. They will need that confidence and inspirational spirit to carry them through the PGA season which continues next week in nearby Hilton Head Island with the Verizon Heritage Classic. The current two-time champion, Boo Weekley, was cut from the Masters this past weekend but will look to come back to own the tournament that has been his for the past couple of years.
Collier can be reached at ccollier@scoreatl.com.
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