April 13, 2009

Argentine Angel Cabrera has won the 73rd Masters with a par on the second sudden-death play-off hole, a stunning recovery after putting his first play-off tee shot behind a tree.

Cabrera, who had not won a title since claiming his first Major, the 2007 US Open at Oakmont, made a par on the second play-off hole, the par-four 10th, to defeat Kenny Perry, who had missed the green and could do no better than bogey.

"This moment, and the win in Oakmont, are the greatest moments of my life," Cabrera said.

"It's incredible. I still can't believe it."

Cabrera, Perry and Chad Campbell all finished 72 holes on 12-under par 276 to force the eighth sudden-death play-off in Masters history, which began at the 18th hole with Cabrera firing his tee shot behind a tree right of the fairway.

Cabrera smacked his second shot off a tree and watched the ball bounce onto the fairway.

His approach dropped within two metres of the cup and he then made a tension-packed putt to match Perry's par, while Campbell missed a one-metre putt to drop out.

The play-off moved to the 10th hole, where Cabrera found the green in two and Perry sent his approach left of the green.

"That green is firm," Perry said.

"I was juiced up and I hit it too far over the green."

A chip across the green and missed putt sealed his fate, allowing Cabrera to two-putt from three metres for victory.

"This is a great moment for any golfer, to win the Masters," Cabrera said.

"I'm so emotional I can barely talk."

Perry, who at 48 would have become the oldest Major champion in golf history, also lost a play-off to Mark Brooks at the 1996 PGA Championship.

"I'm not going to hang my head from this deal," Perry said.

"I fought hard. I was nervous. I may not get this opportunity again but I had a blast.

"I just didn't get it done. I had the tournament to win. I lost the tournament."

A day that saw Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson each made an astonishing run at the leaders from seven strokes off the pace ended with the first South American winner of the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy.

"When Tiger and Phil were making a move, I knew that I had to make a move myself to be the winner," Cabrera said.

The only other South American to win a Major is Cabrera's compatriot Roberto De Vicenzo, who won the 1967 Open Championship but signed an incorrect scorecard at the 1968 Masters to hand Bob Goalby a win without a play-off.

Perry had not made a bogey in 22 holes and had the green jacket within his grasp until a bogey-bogey finish left him level with Campbell and Cabrera, who each parred the last three holes of regulation.

Cabrera, the 17th winner in the past 18 Masters from the last group, and Perry each fired a final-round 71 while Campbell shot 69.

"I thought I was going to be one shot out of it but snuck in there and didn't do too well on the hole," Campbell said.

"Just a little unfortunate."

Campbell, runner-up at the 2003 PGA Championship and third at the 2006 Masters, has never won a Major.

Geoff Ogilvy finished the tournament as leading Australian, carding a three-under 69 to finish at five-under. Aaron Baddeley finished the final round at three-under for a four-under total.

Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby finished at one-under and one-over respectively.

It was the first Masters play-off since Tiger Woods beat Chris DiMarco in 2005 and the first three-man playoff since 1987, when Larry Mize chipped in to beat Greg Norman after Seve Ballesteros was eliminated on the first hole.

Perry began with 11 pars before sinking an eight-metre birdie putt at the par-three 12th. He birdied the par-five 15th and smacked an 8-iron shot at the par-3 16th that rolled centimetres from the cup for a tap-in birdie that gave him a two-stroke edge on Campbell and Cabrera with two holes remaining.

But Perry opened the door to his rivals at 17 when his chip rolled back down the front of the green and led to a bogey and he found a bunker off the 18th tee, eventually missing a three-metre putt to win the Masters.

Japan's Shingo Katayama sank a long birdie putt at 18 for a final-round 68 to finish fourth on 278, matching his best Major result at the 2001 PGA Championship.