Angel Cabrera Wins The Masters
Standing among a clump of trees alongside Augusta National's 18th fairway, Angel Cabrera estimated that his chance to win the Masters was no more than a foot wide.
''I told myself the ball is smaller than what I had to hit it through,'' Cabrera explained later. 'So I said, `Go ahead.' ''
The ball didn't squeeze through.
But Cabrera did.
Saving par from that risky-business first playoff hole, the Argentine held steadiest through the next to wrestle the green jacket from Kenny Perry's grasp on a Sunday burgeoning with drama at both extremes.
Perry bogeyed three of his final four holes, none of them costlier than when his approach at No. 10 -- the second extra hole -- bounced off the left side of the green and down a steep slope.
Soon, that instantly recognizable green blazer made a nice complement to Cabrera's yellow shirt.
''This is a great moment, the dream of any golfer to win the Masters,'' Cabrera said during the traditional crowning on Augusta National's practice green. ``I'm so emotional, I can barely talk.''
The burly Argentine now stands as golf's newest two-time major champion, added to the 2007 U.S. Open crown won at Oakmont. And his homeland can cheer a green jacket that might have slipped off the hanger 41 years ago.
It was 1968 when Roberto de Vicenzo lost a spot in a playoff with Bob Goalby, signing for a score that was one stroke higher than he actually recorded.
''He had a bad moment,'' Cabrera said Sunday. ``It's not going to change what happened to him.''
Three shots behind with six holes to play, Cabrera rallied with three birdies down the stretch to complete a final-round 71. He finished regulation play at 12-under-par 276, tied with Perry (71) and Chad Campbell (69).
It was the lowest 72-hole score since Tiger Woods beat Chris DiMarco in a playoff for the 2005 green jacket. That also was the last time the Masters went to extra holes, though you have to go back to 1987 for the most recent three-man playoff.
''I had so many birdie opportunities, and I just couldn't convert them,'' said Perry, 48, who was seeking to become the game's oldest major champion. ``That's what hurt me in the end.''
Julius Boros, who made Fort Lauderdale his home for many years, remains the oldest man to win a major. He was 48 years, four months when he won the 1968 PGA Championship.
PERRY: `I HAD A SHOT'
Perry is 3 ½ months older, and he appeared to have one arm in the green jacket when a spectacular 8-iron shot at the par-3 16th settled less than a foot from the pin.
That got him to 14-under, two shots ahead of Cabrera and Campbell. But Perry bogeyed No. 17 after a tough chip ran through the green, then bogeyed again at No. 18 after driving into a fairway bunker.
''I had a shot to win,'' Perry said. ``I played beautifully all day, all the way to 17. . . . I'm not going to hang my head from this deal.''
Japan's Shingo Katayama used a 68 to claim fourth, two shots out of the playoff and one ahead of Phil Mickelson (67-279). Tiger Woods was at 280, with Sunday's 68 lifting him to a tie for sixth.
It was Woods and Mickelson who created fireworks to start the day, storming from seven shots back to throw a shadow on the leaders.
Mickelson's front-nine 30 matched a Masters record, and Woods used three birdies on the back nine to make his run. With two holes left, both were at 10-under and one stroke off the lead.
''I thought there were some pins that you could get to,'' Mickelson said. ``If you could make some birdies, you could get a little bit of momentum.''
But Woods bogeyed No. 17 after a poor drive, and both endured adventures at No. 18 that led to bogeys.
''When I birdied 16, I was right there,'' lamented Woods, whose four-year gap between green jackets is his longest since turning pro. ``Obviously, I didn't do it.''
About The 2009 Masters
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The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia has been going on for well over six decades and is widely considered to be the premier golf tournament in the United States. It is a four-day tournament, with 18 holes played each day and no qualifying rounds. The tournament was originally called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, but the name changed in 1940 when Clifford Roberts, one of the owners of the Augusta National Course, finally got his way and was able to change the name to simply "The Masters".
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