Immelman hangs on to win Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga.

Through swirling winds and unrelenting pressure to perform at a major championship, Trevor Immelman never wavered.

His final round doesn't sound impressive - a 3-over-par 75 - but it was enough for him to win the Masters by three shots over top-ranked Tiger Woods. A double bogey on No. 16, where Immelman dunked his tee ball into the pond, couldn't stop the march to the title.

The wind blew harder yesterday than it had all weekend, averaging about 20 miles an hour. It blew hardest late in the day, and the scoreboard reflected that. Players were dropping out of contention around Amen Corner, where Immelman also struggled but didn't have a catastrophe.

Immelman described his round as a roller-coaster ride, adding: "I hate roller coasters."

He wound up 8 under for the tournament and become the first South African to win the Masters since Gary Player won the third of his green jackets 30 years ago. Player had been in Immelman's ear all weekend, pumping him up with confidence. That continued Saturday night, even as Player was flying to the Middle East.

"He left me a voice-mail message, and I played it for my family on speakerphone," said the 28-year-old Immelman, who first met Player as a 5-year-old. "It gives me goose bumps when I think about it."

Immelman started the final round ahead by two shots and never lost the lead, although Brandt Snedeker eagled No. 2 to pull even. By the time he made the turn, Immelman was still two shots up on Steve Flesch, who had a back-nine meltdown after hitting it into the water on the diabolical par-3 12th.

Flesch shot 78 and faded to a tie for fifth. Woods and Stewart Cink each shot par. Cink and Snedeker (77) tied for third, four shots back. Only two of the 45 golfers broke 70 yesterday - Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Heath Slocomb (69). It was that kind of day.

Immelman appeared to finally grab control after a par on 14 put him six shots ahead of Snedeker, Flesch and Woods. A half-hour later, Immelman's double bogey at 16 added excitement that had been missing because so many players struggled with the wind. The double bogey left Immelman three shots ahead of Woods, who had finished his round.

At 17, Immelman bounced back to get up and down for par after hitting his approach into a bunker. He cruised home on 18 with a perfect drive, except for one thing - the drive landed in a divot.

"My caddie said it's not going to be easy - I told you it's not going to be easy," Immelman said.

But Immelman calmly hit a perfect 8-iron to the middle of the green and two-putted for the biggest win of his career. A cancer scare that Immelman had in December made the victory that much sweeter. He had a tumor removed from his diaphragm that turned out to be benign.

"Here I am after missing the cut (in Houston) last week, and I'm the Masters champion," he said. "It's the craziest thing I've ever heard of."

Snedeker, who broke down in the media center, said that Immelman made all the right moves when it mattered most.

"He made a little hiccup on 16, but you're going to do that when you're trying to win your first major," Snedeker said. "I hiccupped my whole way around the golf course, but he held it in there for 15 holes and played great."

Although it had been a long time since the Masters had a winner from South Africa, a South African had either finished second or tied for second five of the last eight years. Golfers on that list are Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark and Rory Sabbatini.

"This tournament is such a big deal down in South Africa," said Immelman, who started playing golf when he was 5 and later watched VCR tapes of tournaments with his older brother, Mark. "We grow up idolizing this event. You know, kids dream about winning this tournament.... Ernie and all of those guys, they still have many opportunities to win this event."

Immelman was in the lead or tied for it from the first round on. He opened with a 68 and shared the lead, then shot another 68 to take the outright lead after 36 holes. He led Snedeker by two after three rounds.

Immelman said that one of the keys to the victory was a trip to Augusta National two weeks ago with Ian Poulter and Justin Rose. During that visit, Immelman said he worked on his strategies for the par-5s.

"It definitely helps coming here before the tournament and just cementing in your mind certain lines off tees and the shape of the shot you want," he said. "I think that was so beneficial for me to come here, jot it all down in my yardage book and just be thoroughly prepared."

Immelman showed that he was prepared for everything Augusta National threw at him.