US Masters 2005

I don't play golf, nor do I imagine I ever will, but once a year I find myself gripped by the drama of (surely) the greatest tournament in the sport: The US Masters @ Augusta. Over the years it has thrown up so many fairytale comebacks and final round excitement that you just couldn't write it as well. This year the four day event followed hard upon a fantastic week of sport in general, most notably the Aintree Grand National meeting, at which I did quite well in the wager stakes! So I thought I'd double up with a few bob on the golf - my initial bet on Sergio Garcia went south when the Spaniard didn't even make the cut, so I dived in on last years' front runner Chris DiMarco @ 12/1 as he led the rain delayed first round at 5 under par. By the end of Saturday night and half way through the penultimate 18 he was 4 shots clear of a fast finishing Tiger Woods and it looked like a 2 man race to the line, with my fella seeming to have a decent advantage. By 10am on Sunday (EST) that had all changed as a seven shot turn around saw Tiger go 3 ahead teeing off for the final round. What happened then was fitting of the venue and the legend of the event as the two leaders accompanied each other from hole to hole, Tiger looked tense but scarily focused, DiMarco looked relaxed but never hopeful... until the 10th when each hole changed the picture and made it one of the most exciting finishes I can remember. Tiger's one in a million shot from off the 16th green and then his mini collapse to the line left it all square after 72 holes and over 550 shots between them! Innevitably, after pulling it back, DiMarco crumbled anti-climactically in the play off, leaving Tiger a very makable putt for his 4th green jacket. Disappointing, but after such a great contest, and a champion worthy of the name, you can't grumble - it was an honour just to witness it all. Kx