Sometimes all it takes is one swing.
In one swing, Louis Oosthuizen did something no one has ever done to put himself on top of the leaderboard.
Five hours later, in one extraordinary, incredible swing, Bubba Watson won the Masters.
Just when it looked like Oosthuizen would win his first green jacket on the second playoff hole on Sunday at Augusta, Watson did the impossible.
His tee shot was sitting in the middle of the woods. He couldn't see the green. So he hooked a wedge from 164 yards to within 15 feet of the flagstick.
No big deal.
Oosthuizen's second shot fell short of the green and his third wasn't much better, giving Watson two putts to win his first major.
It was the crowning finish to a Masters weekend that was full of storylines, with a Sunday leaderboard that was crowded from start to finish.
Prior to Watson's four straight birdies on the back nine, it was Oosthuizen who led for most of the day after making the first albatross ever at the second hole at the Masters, and the first to be seen on television.
The 小蓝视频 African hit a four-iron from 253 yards and the ball landed on the front of the green before rolling some 80 feet to the hole, dropping as if 小蓝视频 reeled in by a fishing rod.
Nothing rattled Oosthuizen on the biggest stage in golf Sunday and he served notice that he is healthy and ready to take on the world's top golfers.
Watson and Oosthuizen were not alone in the quest for the green jacket, as Matt Kuchar, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and 54-hole leader Peter Hanson were all in the mix nearly to the end.
After a shaky beginning on Thursday, Mickelson rebounded with two strong outings on Friday and Saturday, shooting a 66 in the third round to close to within one stroke of the lead.
But a disastrous triple-bogey on the fourth hole Sunday, including an are-you-kidding-me bounce off a grandstand railing, dealt a massive blow to Mickelson's hopes.
The feel-good story of the tournament was Fred Couples. The 1992 Masters champion, now 52, carded a 67 on Friday to take a share of the 36-hole lead. But he made five bogeys in the third round to drop to 2-under, then finished the weekend with an even-par round on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy was one shot back after two rounds, but he shot a 77 on Saturday to take himself out of the running completely and followed that up with a 76 on Sunday. The 22-year-old will look to redeem himself in June by defending his 2011 U.S. Open title.
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How many people thought they would get home from work in time to catch the end of the Toronto Blue Jays' season opener against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday?
The two teams played 16 innings in the longest Opening Day game ever, as Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia cranked a three-run homer in the top of the 16th to give the Jays a 7-4 win.
It was an uncharacteristically short start for Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero, who lasted only five innings.
But the bullpen was phenomenal in mop-up duty, as Jason Frasor, Darren Oliver, Casey Janssen, Francisco Cordero, Carlos Villanueva, Luis Perez and Sergio Santos combined for 11 shutout innings, allowing only four hits.
Perez earned the win by pitching four innings of no-hit ball in extras.
If that performance is any indication of what Jays fans can expect from the bullpen in 2012 after last year's debacle, sign me up.
The Jays and Indians went to extras again on Saturday, with the Jays winning 7-4, but Cleveland avoided a series sweep with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.
If Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek can establish themselves as major league starters, the Jays might just find themselves in the wild card hunt.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected], on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. Wonder if Craig Berube and the Flyers will still be running their mouths when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins blow past them in the first round?
