Being Canadian, my mind went back to 2003 when Mike Weir wrote his name in our history books with a clutch 15 footer on 18 to get into the playoff with Len Mattice, which he won in a playoff at the 10th..
When Adam Scott sunk that same putt, this time from 20 feet, that swirled into the cup to give him the lead at -9 (69) with only Angel Cabrera left down the fairway standing between him and his place in Aussie history, that's what I thought of..
Moments after he screamed "C'mon, Aussie!", Cabrera answered with one of the greatest shots under the circumstances, a seven iron stuffed in there 3 feet from the flag,setting up an easy birdie and a 2-under 70. They finished at 9-under 279.
Another play-off at Augusta for Angel, another chance for Scott...
They both chipped close for par on the 18th in the first playoff hole, and Cabrera's 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th grazed the right side of the cup. Scott hit his 6-iron into about 12 feet, leaving him one putt away from a green jacket.
It was getting dark, Scott said he could barely read the putt. That's when he called over caddie Steve Williams and asked him to take over. Williams was on the bag for 13 of Tiger Woods' majors, and read the putt that helped Woods to the 1999 PGA Championship.
"I said, 'Do you think it's just more than a cup?' he said, 'It's at least two cups. It's going to break more than you think,'" Scott said. "He was my eyes on that putt."
With the world watching, he made the putt, he won the Masters, Angel Cabrera didn't lose it, and he offered Scott the warmest congratulations, a huge hug, and Scott becomes the first Aussie to win the Masters..
Scott didn't make a bogey after the first hole, and he really didn't miss a shot the rest of the day. He just couldn't get a putt to fall until it really mattered. Then, he made two of them.
Jason Day closed with a 70, his second close call at the Masters in three years. This one hurt far more because he had a two-shot lead when he stepped to the 16th tee, but he made bogey at 16 and 17.
Tiger Woods figured he would need a round of 65 to win, and he made two bogeys before his first birdie. Even a mild charge on the back nine wasn't going to help him, and he closed with a 70 to tie for fourth with Marc Leishman (72).
Brandt Snedeker, tied with Cabrera for the lead going into the final round, closed with a 75 and finished five shots behind.
What a great finish, and while I feel bad for Cabrera, I feel good for Scott and Stevie Williams for that matter, especially after Scott collapsed so publicly at Lytham and St Annes last summer.
Final results click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html
BryanA (notes from BBC Reuters, europeantour.com, pgatour.com)
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