From The Fairway
Immleman savours victory
TREVOR Immelman is not sure
he will ever win another major -
but he knows the one he has is
very, very special.
The 28-year-old South African's
thrill at becoming Masters champion
was all the greater because
of who was in second place.
Tiger Woods set out in 2008
with the stated intention of accomplishing
golf 's first grand
slam of all four majors in one
year.
He called it easily within reason''
and by winning his first four
tournaments, making it seven in
a row, nobody was disputing him.
But Immelman, never previously
even close to capturing one
of the four, led from start to finish
at Augusta National and fully
deserved his moment of glory.
He remains, though, in total
awe of what Woods is doing in
the game of golf.
The guy boggles my mind,'' he
said. I'm an avid sports fan and
I study top sportsmen. This guy
is frightening in what he gets
done and how he gets it done and
the ease in which he gets it done.
To win 13 majors at the age of
32 is just frightening. It's just
crazy to think how many he's
going to get to.
To win a major while he's
playing - and he's playing at his
peak - it's a hell of an achievement.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get
it done again, but I'll be trying
my best.''
Immelman is now, of course,
the only man for whom the grand
slam is on this season. Next stop
the US Open at Torrey Pines in
California in June.
Woods, though, is a six-time
winner on that course, including
his last four visits, so when the
Cape Town player was asked directly
if he was going to win the
grand slam the reply was not unexpected.
Probably not, no,'' he said.
Not that he does not believe in
himself to go from strength to
strength now.
It's probably too early to think
about that,'' he added.
I've always dreamt about winning
majors and deep down I always
thought I was good enough.
At times you obviously doubt
yourself because you miss a few
putts and you screw up a few
times and you're just like 'man,
maybe I'm not just good enough'.
But obviously this is a
tremendous confidence boost
and now that I have got one
under my belt all I can do is go
out there, prepare well for the
majors and just try my best.
I'm definitely not going to sit
back and go okay, I'm done'. I'm
going to keep working and try to
make the most of what I've been
given.''
Immelman, father of two-yearold
Jacob, is bound to appreciate
his success all the more because
of what he went through last
year.
First a stomach parasite - he
started feeling ill during last
year's Masters and lost well over
a stone in weight during a
month-long lay-off - and then
more scarily a tumour on his diaphragm.
That was diagnosed just after
he had beaten Justin Rose to the
Nedbank Challenge in his home
country in December, but
surgery removed it and it was
found to be benign rather than
cancerous.
Immelman had nothing better
than a 40th-place finish in seven
stroke play events on his return.
He went to Augusta on the back
of a missed cut in Houston, so no
wonder he called his performance
the craziest thing I've
ever heard of''.
After three rounds in the 60s he
closed with a 75, but in 25mph
winds that was still good enough
for a three-shot win on eight
under par.
No Masters champion has ever
scored higher in the final round,
but his three closest overnight
challengers - Brandt Snedeker,
Steve Flesch and Paul Casey -
shot 77, 78 and 79 respectively.
Woods, six behind with a round
to go, would have forced a playoff
with a 69, but that never
looked likely from the moment
he missed a three-foot par putt on
the fourth.
A 70-footer for birdie at the
11th proved a false dawn. He did
not birdie the par five, 13th and
15th, bogeyed in between, and his
last-green birdie was only going
to bring him a fifth Masters if Immelman
imploded.
Going in the water for a double
bogey on the short 16th raised
alarms that that might happen
and Immelman then found sand
on the next. But he saved par and
was rock-solid on the last.
That left Woods to reflect not
on his 14th major as he had
hoped, but his second successive
runners-up finish in the event
and his fifth in all majors.
I didn't putt well all week,'' he
said.
I kept dragging the blade. I
wasn't releasing it, wasn't getting
the overspin like I normally
do.
I tried to hook my putts, tried
to do anything to get the thing
rolling properly. I didn't quite
have it this week. That's the way
it is. Some weeks are like that -
you have bad weeks and you have
good weeks and certainly this
week was not one of my best.''
9:48am Tuesday 15th April 2008
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