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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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