Like Sinickal, I am a huge fan of the Masters. I have been trying all week to think of a unique angle to discuss and describe this year's tournament, which was much more difficult than I thought given the relatively boring final round. (Watching a boring round at the Masters is still a great way to spend a day!) Now, Trevor Immelman brought that upon himself by shooting a scintillating 3 over par 75 to run away with this year's Masters. OK, that wasn't exactly fair. He did shoot 68, 68, 69 in the first three rounds to run away from the tournament. Even though Tiger finished only 3 shots back, he never actually challenged Immelman. In fact nobody did. No disrespect to Immelman, as he certainly earned his victory, but he was not the story of the weekend.
The story, which most people missed, was Miguel Angel Jimenez. Jimenez, the 20 year veteran from Spain, was one of only three golfers to shoot under par during the final round of the Masters, with a 68. (Nick Watney shot a 71 and Heath Slocum shot a 69). His 4 under par 68 moved Jimenez from a tie for 35th after round 3 all the way into a tie for 8th. Why is this remarkable? Because he was the absolute last player to make the cut after Friday's second round. Since 45 players made the cut, Jimenez played with a marker on Saturday. AND FINISHED 8th!!!
Jimenez made the type of charge that the public was looking for from Woods, Mickelson, or for crying out loud, anybody. Unfortunately, Jimenez was so far back after a first round 5 over par 77, that he was never able to make the top of the leader board. Nevertheless, Jimenez was outstanding on Sunday, and he deserves much credit for his truly amazing round.
Immelman won the Masters, in a convincing manner. He will forever be introduced as a Masters Champion. He will be remembered in the annals of golf as a Masters Champion. However, Jimenez, toiling in relative obscurity, turned in the weekend of the tourney.
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