TIGER Woods and Phil Mickelson served up one of the great head-to-head duels in major history at Augusta National – but both came off the course bitterly disappointed.
Although Mickelson was the one to win it by one, a closing bogey ended his hopes of a third Masters title as Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera embarked a three-way tussle for the Greeen Jacket, with Perry in pole position with three hol
es to play as he attempted to become the oldest winner of the tournament at the age of 48.
The Augusta crowd held its breath ahead of a nailbiting finish, but they had already been treated to a tremendous supporting contest packed with incident between old foes Woods and Mickelson, the world Nos 1 and 2 respectively.
The 2004 and 2006 champion Mickelson, out in a record-equalling 30, had briefly hinted at an amazing charge towards a third Masters title, but the left-hander was left to rue a succession of bad mistakes on the back nine as he shot 67 for a nine-under-par aggregate.
Woods, seeking his 15th major and fifth Green Jacket, closed with two bogeys for a 68 that put him on eight under.
The pair had started an hour ahead and seven strokes behind overnight leaders Perry and Cabrera and with three holes to play Perry, at 48 trying to become the oldest winner ever in majors, was 13 under.
Cabrera was two behind, but was down to third place as Perry's Ryder Cup teammate Chad Campbell stood 12 under after 16 holes.
"I'm not going to leave, but these guys are pretty good," said Mickelson.
"It was a fun front nine, but I made a terrible swing on 12. That was costly and missing the eagle putt on 15 certainly hurt."
Woods pinpointed his drive down the 17th as the moment it was over for him. "I was pretty much dead from there," he commented.
Mickelson launched his bid for glory – and possibly the world No 1 spot as well – by grabbing six birdies in seven holes starting at the second.
Woods, though, birdied the second and eagled the long eighth from 25 feet to stay in touch with an outward 33.
However, Mickelson, one behind Perry at the time, dumped his tee shot into the water on the short 12th and double-bogeyed.
When he two-putted the long 13th he re-ignited his chances and at the 15th he drilled a majestic iron to four feet. If the eagle putt had gone in he would have joined Perry, but he missed.
Woods had also birdied the 13th and after missing a 20-foot eagle putt two holes later hit his tee shot to the 170-yard 16th to four feet and drew level with Mickelson.
They were both one behind, but Woods's hopes were effectively over when he blocked himself out off the 17th tee, could not find the green and bogeyed.
Mickelson, meanwhile, hit his approach to six feet, but missed that as well and then, while Woods was in more tree trouble on the last, found the cavernous fairway bunker and, unlike Sandy Lyle so famously in 1988, came up short of the green.
As for the leaders Cabrera struck first with a five-foot birdie on the third. But he bogeyed the next two.
As the joint-leader at the end of the third round, Cabrera had started out hoping to ease the enduring pain of one of Argentina's most embarrassing sporting mistakes.
No South American has won the Green Jacket, but Roberto De Vicenzo came closest in 1968 only to submit an incorrect scorecard, giving American Bob Goalby a one-shot victory instead of sending the year's first major to a playoff.
"I was not there and I was not able to live that bad moment that Roberto had at that time," Cabrera told reporters through an interpreter. "Now I am playing for myself and trying to make the most of it."
Playing in his 10th Mastersand with three top-10 finishes already under his belt, the stocky Argentine had hoped that that experience, along with his US Open victory at Oakmont where he fought off Woods and Jim Furyk, would serve him well going into last night's final round.
In his final-round partner Perry, however, he met his match. The American reeled off 11 pars in a row, then made a 30-footer from the fringe of the 12th. He did, however, three-putt the next for only a par.
There was not a single European on the leaderboard at that point. Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were joint tenth with Woods and Mickelson when they resumed, but the former turned in 36 and Westwood, having double-bogeyed the seventh, 37.
There was more bad news for Padraig Harrington followers as well.
After his nine at the second yesterday Harrington lost a ball up a tree on the ninth and ran up a triple bogey seven.
The Open and US PGA champion was out in 39 and when he bogeyed the next hole he stood three over. But then came an eagle at the 13th.
Rory McIlroy also turned in 39, but the 19-year-old birdied six of his last 10 holes for a 70 and two-under aggregate on his debut, the same as last week's Houston Open winner Paul Casey.
His fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell ended the Masters as the leading European, a 69 putting him four under and joint 17th – one spot outside of guaranteeing himself a return next April. Scotland's Sandy Lyle also had a fantastic final round, finishing one-under 71 for a share of 20th spot, the same as Justin Rose.
The final couple of holes were certainly heading for some fireworks, but the Augusta galleries were still revelling in the warm afterglow of seeing a classic contest between Woods and Mickelson, albeit this time for minor honours.
Woods and Mickelson have had a low-level feud simmering about everything from the Ryder Cup to equipment since Woods' emergence, but just four months ago, Woods' caddie turned up the heat.
At a charity dinner in New Zealand, Steve Williams hit Mickelson below the belt. He was quoted calling the left-hander an obscenity and then confirming to another newspaper that he does not like the three-time major champion.
But in this tournament at least, Mickelson was hitting the ball better, and after an erratic performance off the tee for most of the first two rounds, he more than righted himself. He made three birdies and the eagle to pull himself back from the brink of missing the cut and back into contention, driving it even better on Saturday.
"Much better," Mickelson said then, "and it gave me an opportunity to be aggressive. The driver is going to be key because I'm going to have to attack a lot of pins." And attack he did.
The odds tilted even further in Mickelson's direction when you compared his upbeat outlook and willingness to take risks with Woods' cautious, near-robotic performance here. Despite a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago, there's also the question of how much rust Woods has managed to scrape off his game after a nine-month lay-off recovering from knee surgery.
