He had a couple of stumbles down the stretch, but in the end, Trevor Immelman stood strong to win his first major. (Redington/Getty Images)

75 TO WIN: Trevor Immelman's 3-over 75 ties for the highest score shot by a Masters champion in the final round. Here is the list of over-par winning rounds. (10:17 p.m.)

HOW HE WON: When new Masters champ Trevor Immelman takes a look at his scorecards for the four days, he'll note one thing -- the par 4s at Augusta National were very kind to him, especially the 455-yard 5th, which he birdied three of the four days. In fact, according to Elias Sports Bureau, over the past 25 years at Augusta, no player has played the par-4 holes better than Immelman's 10 under total this week. The previous best had been Tiger Woods in 2001 at eight under-par. Woods won his second green jacket that year.

Here's how Immelman's scores break down for the week. (8:30 p.m.)

INVITED BACK: The top 16 and ties receive automatic invitations to next year's Masters. Here are the players who will be back in 2009:

In addition, the first eight players (including ties) in this year's U.S. Open, the first four players (including ties) in the British Open, and the first four players (including ties) in the PGA Championship also will receive invitations. -- (7:51 p.m.)

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: When Trevor Immelman putted out at 18 to end his final round and claim the Masters, it was 1:27 a.m. Monday morning back in his birthplace of Cape Town, South Africa. Not that anybody was asleep there. -- (7:30 p.m.)

OVER PAR: Now that Trevor Immelman has put his tee shot in the water at the 16th hole and made double bogey, he looks to become the first Masters champion to shoot over par in the final round since Craig Stadler in 1982. Others who have done it are Jack Nicklaus (1972), Gary Player (1961), Arnold Palmer (1958, 1962), Herman Keiser (1946) and Byron Nelson (1942).

At least he'll have that Green Jacket, though. -- Helen Ross (6:56 p.m.)

MAJOR ON HIS MIND: A chance for a third Green Jacket all but squandered by Saturday's 75, Phil Mickelson took advantage of windy conditions in the final round to climb into the top-10 on the leaderboard. His round of even par left him in red numbers for the season's first major -- and already thinking about the U.S. Open. The championship will be played at Torrey Pines in Mickelson's native San Diego, where he has won three Buick Invitationals.

"I've been playing practice rounds sporadically for some time now, so it's already in the back of my mind," he acknowledged. "Growing up there, that tournament means a lot to me, living in San Diego playing high school matches there at Torrey. I've been out there a bunch, and I've been thinking about it a lot."

Mickelson had his chances Sunday at Augusta National, but he had just dug himself too big a hole. He said the round would have been a good one on Thursday or Friday -- maybe he was forgetting Saturday -- but not when you're trying to rally and win.

"I was hoping obviously to make more of a run than I did, but it was a tough day today, and I felt like I had to fight pretty hard to keep it around par," he said. "I certainly had some chances that could have brought it lower. But it just doesn't look like it would have been enough anyways. -- Helen Ross (6:18 p.m.)

Player

WINS BY COUNTRY: If Trevor Immelman hangs on to win -- and it looks like he's in good shape as he plays the back nine -- it will give South Africa its fourth Masters win (Gary Player has three of them). Those four wins would tie Spain for most Masters wins from one country, outside of the U.S. of course. Seve Ballesteros ('80 and '83) and Jose Maria Olazabal ('94, '99) have the Spanish wins.

Oh, and the Australian drought at Augusta National continues. Blimey!-- (5:55 p.m.)

AMEN TIME: As the leaders get to Amen Corner, here is how they've performed on Hole Nos. 11, 12 and 13 through the first three rounds: Trevor Immelman (3 under), Steve Flesch (3 under), Brandt Snedeker (2 over), Tiger Woods (1 under). -- (5:13 p.m.)

TIGER UPDATE: Tiger Woods just finished his front nine at even par for the day, failing to birdie either of the par 5s on the front side. He remains six shots behind Trevor Immelman.

If Tiger's going to heat up, it's now or never. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until next year before we speculate on his Grand Slam chances again.

UPDATE: Tiger just bogeyed the par-4 495-yard 10th hole-- (4:50 p.m.)

NEED AN EAGLE?: If anybody is going to catch Trevor Immelman on the back nine, they might have to do what Nick Watney just did -- eagle the par-4, 440-yard 14th.

Of course, just 15 eagles have been registered at that hole in the history of the Masters. Prior to Watney, the last person to eagle the 14th was Tiger Woods in 2006.

Immelman, by the way, is in great shape as he closes in on making the turn. He's forcing others to make a charge. So far, there are no takers. -- T.J. Auclair (4:25 p.m.)

BOGEY STARTS: Since World War II, just seven players have won the Masters after bogeying the first hole in the final round. The last person to do it was Zach Johnson last year. If Trevor Immelman or Brandt Snedeker goes on to win, they'll add their name to that list.

Interestingly, Nick Faldo is the only player in Masters history to win after a double-bogey on the first hole in the final round. That happened in 1990. -- T.J. Auclair (4:10 p.m.)

Flesch

FLESCH'S DECISION: Steve Flesch had been steady through the first six holes with pars. But he opted to pull out his driver on the par-4 450-yard 7th instead of playing it safe. He ended up in the pine needles and it resulted in a bogey. Will be interesting to see if he regrets going with driver on that hole. -- (4:06 p.m.)

QUICK CHECKOUT: The main pro shop at Augusta National has been elbow-to-elbow madness all week. Long lines. Counters that had to be restocked every few hours. Walls filled with options -- for caps, clothing and even tote bags.

But Sunday afternoon, it looked more like a ghost town. Only a few styles of caps remained and shelves were thin -- as in not a great selection. You could actually see from one end to the other. And there was no line.

Augusta National never releases the total take for the week, but it's up there. Way up there. -- Melanie Hauser (3:59 p.m.)

GOING LOW EARLY: When all the scores are tallied up by Sunday evening, the 69 carded by Heath Slocum is sure to be one of the best in the final round. Slocum finished as the leaders started their rounds, so while it was windy, he didn't get the full brunt of the conditions. Still, the round of five birdies and two bogeys was solid -- and the best of Slocum's Masters debut.

"The conditions were tough," Slocum said. "They just got tougher. The wind just keeps increasing, or has. I tell you what, I putted my ball extremely well today and I chipped it maybe even better."

Slocum said the gusty winds should make Augusta National even difficult for the leaders. He and Miguel Angel Jimenez, who shot a 68, are the only two players among the first 14 off the tee to break par.

"You can make doubles, bogeys and doubles very, very easily," Slocum said. "Obviously, the guys playing in the last group, the leaders and stuff, they're playing well this week, so they're thinking well and that's what you have to do, you just have to remain patient out there. And you hope for your putter to be hot. You have to chip it well and putt it well to have a good round." -- Helen Ross (3:47 p.m.)

Ogilvy

COURSE CONDITION: It's not every day a PGA TOUR player, especially one as accomplished as Geoff Ogilvy, shoots 74 and doesn't have any complaints or nitpicks about course setup, but there was the former U.S. Open champion giving kudos to the Championship Committee at Augusta National.

Amid increasing winds, Augusta National remained playable, Ogilvy said, and he expected that it would remain a reasonable test for the remainder of the field.

"I'll tell you, the people here know their golf course," Ogilvy said. "They know it, and they know what to do with it, because it was set up pretty well for us. The greens were pretty soft, and they probably were going to stay soft enough so that everyone else, if they play well, can get around. Someone could shoot a good score today. They might not win, but someone will shoot a good score."

But so far, it looks like it might be a struggle (see note below). -- Dave Shedloski (3:40 p.m.)

EARLY IMPRESSION: In looking at the scores from the players who teed off early, and seeing how the leaders have started, one thing seems apparent -- there will likely not be any super-low rounds on Sunday to steal the Green Jacket. Instead, it will be a matter of survival at windy Augusta National.

As someone noted on CBS: "This golf course is going to win today."

Or as Nick Faldo just said: "18 pars might come in very useful today." -- (3:20 p.m.)

BOUNCING BACK: Brandt Snedeker and Trevor Immelman both appeared nervous to start their rounds Sunday, each carding bogeys on the first hole. But Sneds just got a much-needed confidence booster by holing a slippery 30-footer for eagle on the par-5 second hole to tie for the lead at 10-under par. It was Snedeker's first eagle of the week. -- T.J. Auclair (3:14 p.m.)

THE LAST GROUP: As you probably know, Zach Johnson last year became the first player since Nick Faldo in 1990 to win the Masters when not playing in the final group on Sunday. -- (3:11 p.m.)

CINK STARTS FAST: He didn't really get much attention after the third round, but let's not forget about veteran Stewart Cink. Certainly he's made a quick impression today with birdies at the first two holes to move to 6-under.

As Cink said yesterday: "I'm kind of in a position where I have nothing to lose. I've been out here long enough where I'm not playing to try to finish 10th or 4th or 11th or anything like that, I'm just trying to see how high I can get up on the leaderboard, and if it goes the other way, it goes the other way."

Is this the day he adds a major championship to his resume? -- (2:48 p.m.)

Immelman

FLAG OMEN: There's an enormous Masters leaderboard that lies at the bottom of the hill about 200 yards from the first tee. The top of the leaderboard features a flag for each country represented at the Masters.

Interestingly, of the 19 countries represented, only one of the flags was tangled around its pole as the stiff winds blew the other 18 straight right around 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Which flag was it? South Africa's. Could that be a bad sign for Trevor Immelman as he tries to withstand the elements and his nerves in the final round of the Masters? Probably not. But stay tuned. -- T.J. Auclair (2:45 p.m.)

SETTING IT UP: To get you revved up for the final round at Augusta National, PGATOUR.COM's Win McMurry offers a preview. Click here for video . -- (2:30 p.m.)

GETTING SLAMMED: The man who slips his arms into the Green Jacket Sunday will be the only one who has a chance to win the Grand Slam in 2008.

Ben Hogan is the only man to have come close. He won the first three majors in 1953, but he wasn't able to get back from the UK after his victory at Carnoustie in time to play in the PGA Championship. Walter Burkemo won the PGA that year in a 2-and-1 decision over Felice Torza.

Here's a list of Masters champions who also won another major in the same year:

(Helen Ross -- 1:35 p.m.)

WIND KICKING UP: At 9 a.m. Sunday at Augusta National the wind was barely a zephyr, and some writers in the media center were wondering if the tournament committee had erred too much on the side of making scoring easier for the final round of the Masters.

At 1 p.m. that talk had ceased. The winds have kicked up, and, worse for the leaders, it is the westerly wind that created so much mischief last year when Zach Johnson's winning score of 1 over par was the highest in half a century. The west wind makes No. 1 and No. 8 play extremely long, cuts across holes like 5, 7 and 10, and turns the par-3 12th into an evil place because it is helping and makes it harder to stop the ball on the shallow green -- if it hits the green at all.

Sandy Lyle found that out when he watched his tee shot at Golden Bell sail over the green and up on the hill beyond the back bunker, some 30 yards behind the putting surface. Miraculously, he managed to keep his chip shot towards the water on the green and drained the putt for a par after double bogeys at the preceding two holes. -- Dave Shedloski (1:13 p.m. ET)

PERFECT MORNING: After fog and rain delays over the first three days, Masters Sunday dawned spectacularly in Augusta.

The skies were clear and sunshine bathed Augusta National. The challenge will increase as the day progresses, though, with winds expected to gust to

25 mph by noon and 30 mph about the time the leaders tee off.

It should be a fun one. -- Helen Ross (10:23 a.m.)