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Tiger out-Mastered by unheralded Johnson

Woods loses lead early in final round, bid for third straight major

The Masters - Final RoundGetty Images
Zach Johnson, left, is awarded the customary green jacket for winning the Masters by 2006 champion Phil Mickelson on Sunday.

“I had a chance,” Woods said. “But looking back over the week, I basically blew this tournament on two rounds where I had bogey-bogey finishes. That’s 4 over on two holes. You can’t afford to do that and win major championships.”

Even so, he didn’t help himself in the final round.

Two shots behind making the turn, Woods found a bunker on the 10th and failed to save par. His tee shot stopped next to a Georgia pine on the next hole, and Woods’ 4-iron collided with the tree immediately after he hit the ball, bending the shaft almost in half. He did well to save par there, and seemed to hit another gear on the 13th.

With the 4-iron in pieces, he hammered a 5-iron over the creek at the 13th and watched it trickle down the top shelf within 3 feet away for his only eagle of the week.

Johnson, who laid up short of the 15th green, was walking to his third shot when he heard the roar and “I assumed Tiger made eagle” to pull within two shots.

Johnson made par from just off the green, then holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th to cap his run and put Woods in position of needing a charge of his own. Woods simply didn’t have it.

His 15-foot birdie attempt on the 14th broke across the front of the cup. And from the right rough on the 15th, needing to bend the ball around the pines, his 3-iron came up just short and into the water. He pitched to 7 feet to save par and stay in the game.

Johnson three-putted from about 35 feet on the 17th for bogey, again leaving Woods hope. But he missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and his approach to the 17th came up short in a bunker.

“What the hell was that?” Woods said.

Goosen also had his chances, going out in 32 to take the lead and making only one bogey on back nine, a three-putt at No. 12. But it was a peculiar decision to hit iron off the tee at the 510-yard 13th — easily reachable in two — and he left himself only an 18-foot attempt for birdie, which he missed. He also laid up on the par-5 15th after driving into the trees.

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The best chance to catch Johnson belonged to Justin Rose, who made five birdies in a nine-hole stretch through the 16th and was one shot behind until hitting his tee shot into the trees on No. 17 and taking double bogey. Rose finished with a 73 and tied for fifth at 292 with Jerry Kelly (70).

Stuart Appleby, who had a one-shot lead over Woods going into the last round, recovered from a double bogey on his opening hole to join a four-way tie for the lead on the back nine until he hit 7-iron into Rae’s Creek on the 12th hole and took double bogey.

With two double bogeys on his card, he shot 75 and finished four back.

“I had too many doubles and a triple,” Appleby said. “You can handle bogeys out here. But once you do the big numbers, you walk yourself backwards. It was a tough day. I enjoyed the day. Would have loved a rosier finish.”

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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