Angel Cabrera Wins the 2009 Masters!

As every year, this years Masters tournament was Golf's Marquee Event of the Year. There were many questions that would be answered after it was all said and done. Can Tiger Woods regain his dominance in the world of golf and win his fifth Masters Green Jacket? Can Padraig Harrington win his third consecutive major? Can Trevor Immelman be the first golfer to win back to back Masters since Tiger Woods? Can Phil Mickelson win his third Masters? Can Sergio Garcia win his first major? Can any of the previous Masters winners be in contention? How will the youngsters and the old-timers do in the event?

Just like every year at the Masters, Arnold Palmer hit the first tee shot and the first round was underway. It was clear early that the greens were easier this year, compared to previous years at the Masters. The only other year more players were in red numbers was in 1992. The story of round one was Chad Campbell. He started off with five birdies in the first five holes and was 9 under par at one point, before having two bogeys in the last two holes and finishing at 7 under and the lead. Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan are tied for second and only one shot back at 6 under par. Tiger Woods made bogey on the last hole and finished at 2 under for a 70, matching his lowest score ever in the first round of the Masters. Some of the other notables round one results: Sean O'Hair -4, Mike Weir -4, Padraig Harrington -3, Greg Norman -2, Zach Johnson -2, Vijay Singh -1, Trevor Immelman -1, Phil Mickelson +1, Sergio Garcia +1, Rocco Mediate +1, Fred Couples +1, Ernie Els +3, Gary Player +6. The cut line seems to be at +1 or +2 at the end of round one. There were 38 players under par and 47 players over par.

The play in round two was much tougher than round one but it didn't seem to effect Chad Campbell early as he started right where he left off as he birdied four of the first ten holes to reach 11 under par and at one point had a five shot lead. But Campbell faltered late and finished at -9. Joining him at -9 was Kenny Perry, a veteran on the PGA Tour after he shot a 67. One back of the co-leaders was former U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera at -8. But the person who had the best round out of everyone was young Anthony Kim who set a Masters record recording 11 birdies in a single round and finishing the day with a 65 to move him to -4 overall. Looking to win his first major, Sergio Garcia made a late charge in his second round with birdies in 3 of his last 4 holes finishing the round with a 67 and being -5 overall. Tiger Woods made no movement in the leaderboard finishing with a 72 after missing some great opportunities and is now 7 shots back of the leaders. Some of the other notables still in the hunt after two rounds are: Jim Furyk -4, Vijay Singh -3, Phil Mickelson -3, Geoff Ogilvy -3, Padraig Harrington -2, Rocco Mediate -1, Mike Weir -1, Sean O'Hair E, Trevor Immelman +1. The cut line was at +2 all day and the 10 shot rule was in effect. Some of the players who missed the cut were: Fred Couples, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Greg Norman, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Mark O'Meara, Fuzzy Zoellar, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, and Gary Player. On this day, there were only 21 players under par and 51 players over par.

The third round is known as moving day because leaders emerge over the rest of the pack and that was just the case at the end of round three. Former U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry were each tied for the lead at 11 under par after shooting rounds of 69 and 70. Chad Campbell who was the leader for all of day one and two but shot an even par 72 in round three and sits in third place at 9 under par. Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker shot a 68 and are in fourth and fifth place respectively after three rounds at -8 and -7. Sean O'Hair and Ian Poulter both also shot a 68 and that was the best rounds of the day but both are still 7 shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson made little noise and both stand at -4 overall and will both play in the same group on the final day. Some other notables after three rounds: Anthony Kim -4, Vijay Singh -3, Padraig Harrington -1, Sergio Garcia -1, Trevor Immelman +1, Rocco Mediate +5, Mike Weir +6. In third round play, 19 players finished under par, 18 players finished over par, and 13 players finished even par.

The final round saw the pairings of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and the leaders Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry. Cabrera and Furyk were each looking for their second major while Kenny Perry was trying to make history, trying to become the oldest winner in Masters history. Mickelson and Woods had to make a move quick and that is what they did. Tiger had an eagle and a birdie on the front nine to put him to -7 but Phil did him one better shooting a 30 on the front nine tying the record at the Masters and putting him only 1 shot behind the leaders at -11. Through 9 holes, Kenny Perry had all pars and was leader by 1. Angel Cabrera was the only one in the top 10 who shot over par for the first nine holes but was still in contention. Woods and Mickelson were very much in contention after 16 holes until a few bogeys late took them out of it. It was clear late in the tournament that it was a 3-man race between Kenny Perry, Angel Cabrera, and Chad Campbell with Perry in front. After 16 holes, Kenny Perry had a 2 shot lead at 14 under par over Cabrera and Campbell. Perry had bogeys on hole 17 and 18 and lost his lead. After 18 holes, Cabrera, Campbell, and Perry were tied at -12. This meant a playoff to decide the winner and this was the first 3-player playoff since 1987. On the first hole of the playoff, Cabrera and Perry made pars while Campbell missed a four footer for par and finished in third place. On the second hole, Perry drove his second shot into the woods and made bogey from there. Cabrera made par and won the 2009 Masters title. This was Cabrera's second major and first green jacket! Kenny Perry finishes a disappointing second after leading for almost all of the round. Some other notable finishes: Shingo Katayama -10, Phil Mickelson -9, Tiger Woods -8, Sean O'Hair -7, Jim Furyk -7, Geoff Ogilvy -5, Trevor Immelman -2, Anthony Kim -2, Vijay Singh -1, Padraig Harrington E, Sergio Garcia +1, Mike Weir +6, Rocco Mediate +10.