Dan O'Neill

AUGUSTA, Ga. - It would be hard to imagine a more beautiful day. The sun shined brightly, the spring temperatures were pleasant with a pampering breeze. The grounds of Augusta National were Easter basket green, dotted dressed in colorful Azaleas. It was the kind of day the Masters was built on.

“You know, everything about this tournament and this venue is what dreams are made of,” said golfer Trevor Immelman. “Every single player that is here has dreamt of playing in this tournament.”

Who would know dreams better than Immelman. He has fired back-to-back Jaromir Jagrs (68) at Augusta. He has hit 25 of 28 fairways, rolled just 54 putts, made nine birdies and just one bogey. He has matched the perfect Georgia setting with two near-perfect rounds of golf and he has the lead at America’s favorite tournament.

And yet, if you ask him, Immelman will have no trouble topping these days with one even more special. Immelman is doing much more than living a dream this week — he’s living. And that’s a dream come true all by itself.

“I’ve played the game since I was 5 years old and all I ever wanted to do was win tournaments,” said the 28-year-old South African. “But you know, I realized that it can get taken away from you real fast. I feel like I’ve been loaned a talent and, you know, I’m going to try to do as well as I can.”

Last December, Immelman was feeling severe pain in his stomach area. He went in for an MRI on a Thursday morning and that night, his doctor told him something was dramatically wrong. That he had a growth on his diaphragm, a lesion approximately the size of a golf ball.

The object was diagnosed as a calcified fibrosis tumor. Surgery was preformed a few days later and, fortunately, further tests revealed the growth was benign.

At one point, Immelman wasn’t sure he would be around for the Masters, much less playing in it.

“Well, it took a couple of weeks before I could walk again,” he said. “I got a seven-inch cut across the right side of my back. Once I had worked my way through all the morphine and stuff they had me on, it seemed to come back fairly quick.”

Now here he is, four months later, with the lead after 36 holes. Here he is, playing some of the best golf of his career. Here he is, looking like the next of his noted countryman, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. Here he is, making another countryman, Gary Player, look like a profit — Player once said Immelman “has the talent and the ability to win at Augusta.”

“Obviously, this year is pretty special,” Immelman said. “To shoot two 68s in the first two days is probably beyond my expectations, so I’m pretty thrilled right now.”

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Who better to win the first major of the season than someone who has nothing to lose. Who else might birdie Augusta’s imposing finishing holes on Friday — Nos. 17 and 18 — than someone who thought he could be finished a few months ago.

Let’s face it, every day is a perfect day for Immelman.

“It definitely gives you perspective,” he said. “I went from winning a tournament to lying in a hospital bed, waiting for results on a tumor. So it definitely made me realize that golf wasn’t my whole life.

“But I have a real passion for golf and I put a lot of hours in and made a lot of sacrifices to succeed at the game. So, you know, whilst it gave me perspective on the one point, I was still trying to get back to the form I was showing before it all happened.”

Immelman was the 2006 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and finished seventh on the money list that season. Last year, he was 46th on the list with winnings of more than $1.8 million.

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He tied for fifth at the Masters in 2005, and he came determined to cash in this new lease on life, eager to contend once more. Immelman recovered from the surgery in time to play in the Tavistock Cup at Isleworth Golf & Country Club near Orlando, Fla.

Shortly thereafter, he joined buddies Justin Rose and Ian Poulter in a pre-emptive trip to Augusta National. The threesome got in some extra playing time, gained some valuable experience. For Immelman, still getting his golf legs, the trip re-established a level of comfort.

No one is expecting him to hold this lead. That kind of respect is reserved for players who have majors on their resumes. But considering what Immelman has gone through to get here, he might just have the perfect measurements for a green jacket.

“You definitely feel pressure,” Immelman said. “But you know, I feel pressure playing for $100. So that’s the beauty of this game.

“The best players in the world get nervous, they can feel pressure. I guess it’s just who can disguise it the best, who can handle it the best. My mindset is, obviously, that I’m just thrilled to with my play so far. But there’s a very long way to go.”

For one who already has come so far, perhaps 36 more holes isn’t all that much.

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