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Miracle Masters Shot Lets Bubba Trump All Comers

Bubba Watson hugs his caddie Ted Scott after winning the Masters golf tournament following a sudden-death playoff on the 10th hole Sunday. ENLARGE

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- For the second year in a row, the Masters was decided in the woods lining the 10th fairway. Last year on Sunday it was Rory McIlroy's disastrous drive into the trees left of the fairway that knocked him out of contention and opened the door for Charl Schwartzel. This year, it was Bubba Watson's Hail Mary wedge shot from deep in the trees on the other side that somehow, against all right and reason, wound up 15 feet from the pin. Two putts later, he had defeated Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff and won the green jacket.

"I had to keep it under 15 feet under a tree, then it started rising and hooked about 40 yards. Pretty easy," Watson said, describing the 160-yard shot.

For the second year in a row, the Masters was decided in the woods lining the 10th fairway. Jason Gay was there, and stops by Mean Street with the first-hand details. Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images.

Watson, who broke down sobbing after his winning playoff putt, describes his style of play as "Bubba Golf." He has never had a lesson and has the most untraditional game on the PGA Tour, curving virtually every shot one way or the other, to reflect how he sees it in his mind. Yet he leads the PGA Tour this year in both driving distance and hitting greens in regulation. The Masters represented his fourth career win and first major.

It was the second truly historic shot of the day. The first came on the par-five second hole Sunday, when Oosthuizen scored a rare double-eagle. From 253 yards, he used a four iron to chase the ball down the length of the green and into the hole. The first double-eagle ever on that hole, and the fourth in Masters history, instantly vaulted Oosthuizen from third place at seven under par to first at 10 under par—the same figure that he and Watson finished at to force the playoff.

Peter Hanson and Phil Mickelson, who started the day in first and second place, respectively, faltered early. Hanson bogeyed two of the first three holes, and Mickelson suffered an excruciating triple bogey on the par-three fourth hole when his tee shot pinged off the spectator railing into a bamboo thicket.

They finished in a tie for third place, at eight under, with Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar.

By chance, Watson and Oosthuizen played together as a twosome both in regulation and in the playoff. But their days were different. Oosthuizen spent most of the round, after his three-under-par miracle on the second, protecting his position, whereas Watson didn't punch his way into a share of the lead until the 16th hole.

The turning point for Watson came after he bogeyed the par-three 12th, to fall back to six-under par. He birdied the next four holes in a row to right himself.

On the par-five 13th, his booming drive around the corner left him less than 200 yards—and an eight-iron shot for him—into the green. He knocked the shot about 25 feet from the hole, and almost made an eagle.

The 14th was a critical hole for both Watson, who birdied, and for Oosthuizen, a South African with one of the coolest demeanors and sweetest swings in golf. He made a potentially costly mistake by landing his approach shot on the sloping front side of the green. The ball rolled back into the fairway. His pitch back to the hole left him 10 feet for par, and he calmly holed the putt to save par.

Watson, at that point, was only one shot behind.

Both players made tricky birdie putts at the par-five 15th. After Watson birdied 16, they were tied on the 17th tee—where both players hit stinker drives (Watson left, Oosthuizen right). After resourceful, pressure-packed scrambling, both managed to save par.

Then they both parred the difficult 18th hole, not once but twice, in regulation and the first hole of the playoff.

As on the 17th, both Oosthuizen and Watson hit horrible drives on the second playoff hole, No. 10. Oosthuizen caught a break when his ball bounced off a tree back into the first cut. From there he had a clean shot to the green, but the shot came up short and he failed to get up and down. Watson's par, after the Hail Mary from the trees, ended the day.

At the start of the play Sunday, most golf fans thought Mickelson, who began one off the lead and would play in the final group, would run away with his fourth green jacket. The course was set up for low scores, and that's Mickelson's specialty on Sunday here.

But the triple bogey on number four was a blow, and he couldn't make the magic happen.

On the back nine, where he shot 30 on Saturday, he managed only two birdies. He set up for several promising putts of the type that fans are accustomed to seeing Mickelson sink coming down the stretch. But this time they expired a few rolls short of the hole. His round, like those putts, ran out of gas. His score for the day was even-par 72.

Oosthuizen played courageous golf on Sunday and has nothing to apologize for. His putting was solid throughout the round and he never lost his cool.

But Watson on this day could not be beat. Known for making goofy YouTube videos and constant tweeting, the former University of Georgia golfer looked uncharacteristically grave coming down the stretch. He was as focused as he has ever been.

"I've never had a dream go this far," he said about winning the Masters, "so I can't really say it's a dream come true."

It's likely, however, that his untutored style will inspire millions of golf dreams by others. In the coming months, look for a big run on no lessons at golf courses across the country.

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