Masters reclaims magic on Sunday

All week, television analysts and national writers wondered if the Masters had lost that Sunday magic. They asked if Augusta National was too Tiger-proofed, too long, too challenging for the World's best to created another memorable final round.

Four days of good weather and four hours of remarkable play from the field answered all the questions on Easter Sunday.

Perhaps the best way I saw it written on Monday is that the Masters has reclaimed its title as the globe's most important golf championship. A Sunday that rivaled the drama of Jack Nicklaus' victory in 1986 and few others proved it so.

There was, above all else on Sunday, the pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, a heavyweight fight that stole the show until both tuckered out on the 17th green. Mickelson's record-tying 30 on the front nine and Woods' dramatic birdie at the 16th — his fourth and final of the afternoon — pushed the roars to new heights at Augusta National.

There was the aging Kenny Perry, a 48-year-old journeyman who hadn't played the Masters since 2005 but needed just one par on the final two holes to claim his first Green Jacket. Instead, he bogied both on the way in, fumbling away the lead and forcing a three-way playoff with Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera.

Finally, there was Cabrera, who's second shot on the 73rd hole is already, in my opinion, one of the luckiest in Masters history. Yes, he won the Masters on the second playoff hole with Perry, needing only a tap-in par to win the major championship. But it was merely a foregone conclusion after the magical break he got on the first playoff hole.

With a wayward drive putting Cabrera in the right trees, he smacked a low-iron down through the trees, attempting only to get near the green in distance, not direction. Instead, his ball caromed off a tree and back into the middle of the fairway. His up-and-down to save par would keep him in the hunt for the first Green Jacket for his home country.

From there, it was a total scramble by Augusta. Unlike Perry and Campbell, Cabrera's family members were not shown repeatedly on TV, as there were not there to celebrate. His "translator," a man wearing a Masters shirt and tie in Butler Cabin, seemed to be a makeshift tournament employee who just happened to speak Spanish and could help Cabrera through the interview.

It was one of the only spoiling factors of a terrific weekend of golf, one that made America forget about Easter Sunday major league baseball and the North Carolina's NCAA Championship victory in one fell swoop. The roars were back, and for another day, the nation seemed just fine with that.

Having attended Saturday's third-round, I can say that my own personal highlights included walking all 18 holes in the morning to see the course in full and watching Phil's birdie putt on No. 15 just feet away from his swing coach, Butch Harmon, and Mickelson's father. I had a Pimento Cheese sandwich for $1.50 and a few beers, priced so low — $2.75 — that UI students would find them reasonable downtown Iowa City.

I watched Tiger grind our pars and curse under his breath and just struggle altogether to shoot -2 on Saturday. It is like nothing else to watch a man who has perfected a sport play so many shots he finds to be imperfect. I walked to the 16th green late in the morning and saw the nastiest pin — back and about six feet off the green's right edge — and wondered how anyone would get it close. Later, I watched Chad Campbell hit it in the greenside bunker off the tee before leaving his second shot in the sand. He made double-bogey. An amateur would've made at least a triple.

I walked through Amen Corner when Mickelson teed off on No. 12 and was reminded why the grandstand behind the tee box is one of the best sporting venues on the planet. Mickelson's double-bogey on 12 Sunday showed it can also be the most rewarding and most challenging.

I would say that anyone who enjoys golf — playing, watching, whatever — should go see Augusta National, if only for a practice round. I am absolutely fortunate and owe my father eternally for having been lucky enough to attend the Masters. It would be No. 1 on a logical list of "Sports' Seven Wonders of the World" and can be best appreciated up close.

Later this month, Augusta National will shut down… until October. The hiatus, the people at the Masters explain, "lets the course rest for a few months." I can only assume you will still be able to eat off the lawn when fall comes around, each blade of grass so perfectly kept that it really does look fake on television.

This year, the explanation makes perfect sense. After one of the most dramatic Sundays in Masters history, you can imagine Augusta National is a bit weary from it all.

Photo from Bob Martin/Sports Illustrated