As the Sun shone on the iconic course at Augusta, the air was pregnant with the expectation of a famous victory for a much loved left handed player. But then, sport being sport, it has very little taste for the pre-dawn script. And while a left handed gentleman won indeed, it wasn't the one you guessed. In a thrilling climax to the 76th Masters tournament at the Augusta National Golf Park, American Bubba Watson displayed immense courage and conviction to edge out South African Louis Oosthuizen in a two-hole play-off to clinch his first major title and don the eternally gratifying Green Jacket. Oosthuizen grabbed the lead from the rest of the field with an incredible Albatross on the par-5 second hole, but Watson who was once five strokes off the pace worked his way back through the back nine to catch up with his playing partner and force the play-off.
The two men squared off on the 18th, making par before drama unfolded on the next play-off hole, the 10th. Both of them drove into the trees, but while Oosthuizen could only work his way back to a bogey five, Watson added to the folklore that surrounds Augusta. In a moment of sheer artsy magic, the courageous American pulled off a stunning second shot from the obscure depths of the Pine trees to carve the air with his wedge for 151 yards before landing twelve feet from the pin, he couldn't even see. With the luxury of two putting for the title, Watson did just that before dissolving into a sea of tears and into the arms of his mother, his caddie and a bunch of adoring friends as the warm celebrations served to capture the enduring beauty of Augusta. It was an ambush victory that shall remain etched in the memories of the many that take Augusta to their heart.
The Majors

If someone were just following the leader board at the Augusta National this week, they could have been forgiven for thinking this was some carnival merry-go-round. At the end of a day when the lead changed hands between eight players, it finally rested in the hands of Peter Hanson, who practices much of his game on the European Tour. Hanson went round the course with a seven under 65 to finish at 207 overall and a one stroke lead over the immensely popular Phil Mickelson. Leftie brought his short game to bear on the iconic course to card a 66 that took him to 8 under at the end of an eventful third round of the Augusta Masters tournament in Georgia.
The 76th Masters got off to an undulating start at the Augusta National in Georgia. The course, softened by recent wet weather, still had enough in its belly to rein back the pretenders. But Lee Westwood showed he had nothing pretentious about his campaign - producing an imperious round of Golf to emerge in front with an impressive 5 under 67. Tiger Woods needed to unearth some resilience, to survive a difficult day without too much damage – eventually reaching the clubhouse with a 72 that contained three birdies and an equal amount of bogies. Rory McIlroy had a slightly better round, birdies on 17 and 18 leaving him four strokes off the leader.