Immelman became the second consecutive man to make the Masters his first major victory. (Getty Images)

The message was from Gary Player, the man he first met when he was a gap-toothed 5-year-old, the man who had done three times what Immelman would try to do Sunday at Augusta National -- win a Green Jacket.

Immelman parred the 72nd hole for the three-shot win. (Getty Images)

The Masters

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Player was on his way to the Middle East, but he wanted the young man who was leading the Masters by two strokes to know how much he believed in him. More importantly, though, Player wanted Immelman to believe in himself.

"He told me to just go out there and be strong through adversity, because he said that adversity would come today, and I just had to deal with it," Immelman added. "You know, I took that all to heart, and I'm obviously thankful for the message and I'm sure he's proud of me."

Proud, indeed. Immelman, whose swing Player had compared to Ben Hogan earlier in the week, persevered as his mentor had urged him and won the 72nd Masters on a brutally windy Sunday by three strokes over Tiger Woods, a man who Immelman says "boggles my mind."

"To win a major while he's playing, and he's playing at his peak ... it's a hell of an achievement," said Immelman, who also beat Woods by two strokes when he won his first PGA TOUR event, the 2006 Cialis Western Open. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get it done again, but I'll be trying my best."

Immelman's next opportunity comes in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, a course that Woods has won on six times. Ironically, though, the 28-year-old South African has won there, too, and it was the 1998 U.S. Amateur Public Links that earned Immelman his first trip to the Masters.

Now Immelman, who won $1.3 million on Sunday, will get to compete at Augusta National until he's a senior citizen. That's something countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, two of Immelman's idols, can't say, at least not yet. Meanwhile, his mentor is still playing at the age of 72, notching a record 51 starts this week.

Player has always been there for Immelman, whose family is also steeped in South African golf tradition. His father, Johan, is former commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. He used to record telecasts of golf tournaments so Immelman and his older brother, Mark, now an instructor and the head golf coach at Columbus (Ga.) State, could watch.

"I think (Player) realized that even at a young age, that I had so much passion for the game," Immelman said. "And he kept in touch with me and ... kept writing me notes and he kept answering my calls and my letters to him and he was always there for support and advice.

"After I turned pro, he was there for a kick in the butt what I wasn't playing well or when he saw something that he didn't like that I was doing. And so he's been kind of like another type of a father for me. To have somebody with that much experience on your side, giving you advice is just incredible.

"I'm very thankful."

Four months ago, Immelman had something else for which to be thankful. He had just won the Nedbank Challenge and was playing in the South African Open last December when he began having severe pain in his abdomen.

Immelman survived several scares on the back nine. On the 12th, he saved bogey after driving left of the green. (Getty Images)

"It was a shock, because the week before he was in good shape," said Mark, who is nine years older than his brother and was with him at the time. "In the space of about three hours we went from the golf course to sitting in the hospital."

Doctors found a mass on his diaphragm and operated, and for two days, Immelman's close-knit family, his childhood sweetheart, Carminita, and their young son, Jacob, didn't know whether or not the tumor was cancerous. The news was good, though, and a 7-inch scar is all that remains.

"One minute, the week before I'm winning a golf tournament and the next week I'm lying in a hospital bed," Immelman said. "You just realize that it just can get taken away so fast; and if you don't enjoy every step of the way, you might regret it, and that would be sad to regret a talent that you were given."

Immelman's return to form has been gradual with four missed cuts and nothing higher than a tie for 17th entering the Masters. It all came together, though, at Augusta National this week as he hit 86 percent of his fairways and 71 percent of the greens in regulation, ranking first and tied for second, respectively, among his peers.

"One of the neat things about Trevor is he doesn't make excuses," said Jon Wagner, Immelman's agent. "When he had surgery in December, they had to go through the rib, they had to go through muscle to remove the growth. It was two weeks before he could walk and a month before he could even move a club back.

"He had to piece it all together again. Different elements of his game were there throughout the start of the season. It was just never there all at once in the same week. This week, it's all come together and it's pretty neat."

Mark Immelman called Sunday's victory the "fulfillment of a lifelong dream" for his younger brother, whom he calls an "inquisitive" sort. The two would wake up early to watch the Masters in South Africa each year, soaking up every shot heroes like Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw and Jack Nicklaus hit.

"Everything he's done throughout his life, he's just thrown his heart and soul into it, so to see today has just been such a blessing," said Mark, who was an All-American at Columbus State when his 13-year-old brother first beat him.

"That's how I got into golf instruction. Like Harvey Penick who saw Sam Snead, I saw my little brother."

Mark gave his brother a putting tip last Monday morning -- telling him to take the "emphasis away from the hole and hit quality putts whether they go in or not." Player told him to keep his head still, too, because the legend felt he was "peeking too soon."

Immelman took both suggestions to heart -- and displayed major heart of his own on the difficult Sunday at Augusta National. What he called the roller coaster ride that began in December ended with a Green Jacket, and he doesn't plan on stopping there.

"I've always dreamed about winning majors, and deep down, I always thought I was good enough," Immelman said. "At times you obviously doubt yourself, because you miss a few cuts and you screw up a few times and you're just like, man, maybe I'm not as good, or not good enough.

"But obviously, this is a tremendous confidence boost, and now that I know that I have got one under my belt, all I can do is go out there and prepare well for the majors from now on, and just try my best. I'm definitely not going to sit back and go, okay, that's me, I'm done, if that's the answer you're looking for.

"I'm going to keep working hard and trying to make the most of what I've been given."