US Masters:ONCE you discover the habit of winning a major title, you don't lose it. Angel Cabrera's memory bank only had to dwell back less than two years for his only previous major success; but, when the chips were down in a three-way play-off to decide the 73rd US Masters at Augusta National last evening, the 39-year-old Argentinian shut the door on his challengers.
After an enthralling final round, Cabrera finished locked on 276 – 12-under—with Americans Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell which forced them into tie holes. Cabrera, who had birdied two of his last four holes in regulation for a 71, rode his luck when given a second chance but, ultimately, showed perseverance to claim a second major to add to his US Open win in 2007.
This time, Cabrera’s broad shoulders claimed the coveted green jacket with a par at the second hole of sudden-death, where Perry, his sole remaining challenger, lost his chance of glory by pulling a 156-yards downhill approach shot left of the green and failing to get up and down.
Perry had been the epitome of calm for much of his final round, reeling off 11 straight pars before getting his first birdie of the day on the 12th and he held a two shot advantage over Cabrera with two holes to go. However, a bogey-bogey finish gave Campbell and Cabrera another chance. . . and the Argentinian proved up to the task.
The first play-off hole – the 18th – saw Campbell exiting, and witnessed an extraordinary par four from Cabrera who had put his drive into the trees. Blocked out, he had no route to the flag or fairway, and took the high-risk gamble of hitting in hope. It worked, the ball ricocheting off a tree and back onto the fairway, from where he salvaged par. Likewise, Perry, missing the green from the middle of the fairway, managed an up and down to move on to the 10th, the second play-off hole.
Even before the play-off, we discovered the golfing gods were not averse to a wee bit of mischief making. What had seemed an in-house joke, in pairing Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods together for the final round, barely speaking a word to one another, transpired in to one of those heart-thumping final rounds reminiscent of Arnie and Jack in the old days.
Mickelson turned in a mere 30 strokes, but got a punch in his soft belly when taking a double-bogey five on the 12th where he hit a nine-iron into the front bunker. He finished with a round of 67 for 279, and was left ruing missed short putts on the 15th and 17th. “It was fun,” he observed of the front nine charge that had roars reverberating around the old course.
For his part, Woods – having struggled in his warm-up, hitting shots left and right – still managed to get into contention until a bogey-bogey finish left him wondering of what might have been. “I fought my swing all day and just kind of Band-Aided it around, and almost won with a Band-Aid swing,” observed Woods.
For sure, it was an electricity charged day among the azaleas and the dogwoods. The crowds who had excitedly thronged through the gates off Washington Road in early morning couldn’t have foreseen what lay ahead: a charge that ultimately petered out from Mickelson and Woods, with a three-way play-off involving Cabrera, Perry and Campbell at its death.
“They needed to inject a little bit of drama back (into the Masters), and they have,” said Graeme McDowell, who closed with a final round 69 for 284, giving him a tied-17th finish. McDowell finished as the leading European, two ahead of Rory McIlroy – who closed his campaign with a run of five birdies on his back nine for a 70 (286) – while Padraig Harrington’s run of major victories came to a quiet end, the Dubliner closing with a 73 for 288.
This time, Harrington was not to be centre-stage. It’s His experiences here at Augusta these past four days will be pocketed, and remembered when needed again.
