Perry, Campbell and Cabrera put on a good show of their own, and a three-way playoff isn’t something you see more than once a generation at Augusta. But as compelling as their battle would turn out to be, it wouldn’t have ranked as one of the great Masters ever had it not been for the warm-up act of Tiger and Lefty.

It doesn’t matter what sport you’re talking about. The moments we think of as the greatest ever always include great teams or players.

The Marlins winning the World Series was unexpected and great, but the Red Sox winning it was one for the ages. A Stanley Cup win by New Jersey is not as great as one by the Canadiens or Rangers. None of San Antonio’s NBA titles will be remembered as vividly as those won by the Lakers and Celtics.

Don’t bother whining about it. that’s the way it is. You can’t have great memories without great players.

So Angel Cabrera needs to send Tiger and Phil a thank-you card for making his round worth watching. Had the two big guns kicked it around like a couple of hackers on the front nine, televisions around the globe — except in Argentina — would have been clicking to something more interesting at a furious rate. Even the prospect of the ancient Ken Perry — 48 years old and as nice a guy as you’ll ever meet — winning the thing wouldn’t have kept casual fans tuned in.

Slideshow   What if ... Tiger's top Masters round A look at Tiger Woods' best scores on each of Augusta's 18 holes. more photos

But Tiger and Phil kept us glued to the set until the very end of their round. And once you’d put in four hours on the couch, you probably stayed around to see if the old guy could hang on to the lead, or if he’d find a way to lose.

If you did stay, you saw Cabrera work some absolute magic and poor Perry suffer as painful a defeat as any Greg Norman ever endured and still remain gracious and wonderful. It was terrific and imperfect, because that’s the kind of game golf is.

We won’t forget it, not for a long time — not because of the playoff, but because they were preceded by the greatest warm-up act golf can hope to see.

Also on NBCSports.com Rosenthal: Steelers’ struggles could sink their playoff hopes Circling the Bases: Dodgers unlikely to land Halladay Inside the Irish: Clausen reportedly involved in fight Opinion: So far, Nowitzki is NBA’s MVP  |  Fan Ranker Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

MORE FROM GOLF

Golf Section Front

Ochoa edges Shin for LPGA's top player award Nordqvist wins LPGA Tour Championship Out of Bounds: Tiger booed ... at Stanford? Latest golf videos Latest player news, rumors and more Tracking Tiger: News, features and more Tiger's triumphs: Recapping all Woods' wins Vote: When will Tiger win his 15th major? Vote, discuss: Best major of 2009? Special section: Golf on NBC   Golf Section Front   Add Golf headlines to your news reader: