Sun Apr 13 12:08:32 2008

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How recent Masters have been won

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Augusta, GA (Sports Network) - Trevor Immelman carried a two-shot lead into the final round of the Masters, looking for the first major championship of his career just four months after having major surgery to remove a benign tumor from his diaphragm.

Immelman's mettle was tested again on Saturday, when he kept his lead by shooting a 69 in the third round, but there is still one more exam to go: Augusta National on Sunday.

Another likeable twentysomething, Brandt Snedeker, was two shots back; veteran Steve Flesch was three behind; and English star Paul Casey was four off the pace.

And then there was Tiger Woods, six shots back and looking to win a major coming from behind for the first time in his career. A Woods victory would not be historic -- Jackie Burke, Jr. came from eight shots down after the third round in 1956 -- but it would probably mean one of the most memorable final rounds in Masters history.

Here's how some recent Masters have been won:

ZACH'S WEDGE ATTACK, 2007

The previous 16 Masters champions had all come from the final pairing, but Zach Johnson bucked that trend last season when he won playing in the third-to last group on Sunday.

Johnson's game plan was out of step with the conventional wisdom that bombers who can reach Augusta's par-fives in two shots have a better chance to win.

He never went for the green, opting instead to lay up to ideal distances for his wedge. Shooting a three-under 69 in the final round, he won by two shots over Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini.

"I'm a midwest guy from Iowa and this is what it's about," Johnson said.

PHIL'S SUNDAY STROLL, 2006

Phil Mickelson needed an 18-foot birdie putt to win his first Masters title in 2004. Two years later, he had more time to relish slipping into the green jacket for the second time in three seasons.

Mickelson walked up the 18th fairway with a three-shot lead that year and won by two shots over Tim Clark after shooting a three-under 69 in the final round -- his first round in the 60s all week.

It was Mickelson's second consecutive major title after the 2005 PGA Championship -- sparking conversation that he could match Woods' "Tiger Slam." His collapse at the U.S. Open two months later brought an end to that speculation.

"The stress-free walk up 18 was incredible," Mickelson said after the Masters. "I actually wanted a four- or five-shot lead, but three was OK too. It was a great feeling walking up there, knowing I had the tournament in hand."

"IN YOUR LIFE...", 2005

Woods produced an all-time Masters highlight in 2005 with his remarkable chip- in birdie at the par-three 16th on Sunday. Pulling his tee shot left of the green, he needed to play nearly 30 feet of left-to-right break to get the ball close to the hole.

After picking a spot on the green where sunshine was hitting the surface through the nearby trees, Woods chipped up and waited. The ball skipped, rolled down towards the hole, then slowed to a stop at the edge of the cup.

Then it fell in, giving us Verne Lundquist's chilling "In your LIFE have you seen anything like that?" call. And a pretty good unintentional ad for Nike, whose logo could be seen as the ball teetered on the lip.

Woods eventually beat Chris DiMarco in a playoff for his fourth Masters crown, but it was the shot at 16 that we still remember.

"I figured I need to get this thing at least up-and-down, give myself a chance to make a par," Woods said. "All of a sudden, it looked pretty good, and all of a sudden, it looked really good. And it looked like how could it not go in, and how did it not go in, and all of a sudden it went in."

Not as eloquent as Lundquist.

MICKELSON'S ONE SMALL LEAP, ONE GIANT STEP, 2004

Mickelson was the "Best Player Never to Win a Major" before he broke through at the 2004 Masters.

Rolling in a downhill, 18-footer on the 18th green to beat Ernie Els by a shot, Lefty became just the fourth player in Masters history to birdie the 72nd hole to win the championship.

His celebration? A small, borderline awkward, legs-apart leap into the air.

It snapped an 0-for-46 drought at the four major championships for Mickelson, who had finished third in the previous three Masters. He had also been runner- up twice at the U.S. Open and once at the PGA Championship.

"In the past 10 years, to have come so close and fallen short or having people make critical putts against me, makes this difficult journey towards my first major title so much sweeter," said Mickelson, who now owns three major championships.

OH CANADA, 2003

Mike Weir three-putted for a bogey at the first playoff hole, but still beat Len Mattiace to win the 2003 Masters. It was that rarest of Augusta moments, repeated by Johnson four years later: A surprise champion.

Mattiace fired a brilliant 65 in the final round to force the playoff with Weir, who closed with a 68. Their playoff was the first at the Masters in 13 years.

Weir became the first Canadian to wear the green jacket, and the first left- hander in 40 years.

"It was a tough grind all week, mentally and physically," said Weir. "I was absolutely beat."