The Masters: Final-round notebook

By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Sunday’s playoff marked the 14th playoff in Masters history, and the eighth since the playoff format became sudden death. It was also the third sudden-death playoff that included three players. The others were in 1979 (Fuzzy Zoeller def. Ed Sneed and Tom Watson) and 1987 (Larry Mize def. Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman).

• With his victory Sunday, Angel Cabrera moved from No. 69 to No. 18 in Official World Golf Ranking. Co-runner-up Kenny Perry moved from No. 11 to No. 6 (a new career best) and the third playoff participant, Chad Campbell, moved from No. 76 to No. 41.

• Perry is now 3-3 in PGA TOUR playoffs, having won the 1991 Memorial Tournament, lost the 1996 PGA Championship, lost the 2008 AT&T Classic, won the 2008 John Deere Classic and won the 2009 FBR Open.

• Campbell is now 0-2, having also lost the 2005 Nissan Open. This was Cabrera’s first PGA TOUR playoff.

• Todd Hamilton, the 2004 British Open champion, will return to the Masters next year after a tie for 15th finish, because the top 16 and ties return the next year. His five-year British Open exemption into the Masters expired Sunday.

More Masters:
Complete News Archive
VIDEO: Highlights and analysis
HOW THEY DID: Scoreboard
• Perry -- at 48 years, 8 months and 2 days today -- was attempting to become the oldest Masters champion (Jack Nicklaus, 1986, 46 years, 2 months, 23 days) as well as the oldest major champion (Julius Boros, 1968 PGA Championship, 48 years, 4 months, 18 days).

• With front-nine 6-under-par 30, Phil Mickelson tied three players for low front nine in Masters history. The others are Johnny Miller (third round, 1975), Greg Norman (fourth round, 1988) and K.J. Choi (second round, 2004).

• There were five bogey-free rounds this week. They came from Jim Furyk on Thursday, Perry on Friday. Justin Rose and Steve Stricker on Saturday, and Steve Flesch on Sunday.

• With his fifth-place finish Sunday, Mickelson now has 12 top-10s in 16 career professional starts. Mickelson has two wins and a total of 10 top-10s in his last 11 trips to the Masters.

• Tiger Woods (tied for sixth) now has 10 top-10 finishes in 13 professional starts at the Masters. The four-time champion has not won the event since 2005, the four-year drought being the longest of his professional career.

• Cabrera was the only player this week to open with three rounds in the 60s, and is the 11th player in Masters history to do so, and the first since Trevor Immelman last year. No player has even posted four rounds in the 60s in a single Masters.

• John Merrick (tied for sixth) finished as low Masters “rookie” among the 19 first-timers that teed it up this week. He qualified for the 2009 Masters after finishing tied for sixth at the 2008 U.S. Open.

• Dustin Johnson (Nos. 13-14) became just the second player in Masters history to post back-to-back eagles. Dan Pohl did so in the third round (Nos. 13-14) in 1982.

• Stricker made his first bogey (No. 8) since No. 2 in the second round on Friday, ending a streak of 42 consecutive holes without a bogey. Stuart Appleby holds the Masters record (2001) for consecutive holes without a bogey with 50 (No. 5 in Round 1-No. 1 in Round 4).

• With Cabrera’s win coming from the final twosome, the winner has come from the final pairing every year since 1991 with one exception (2007, Zach Johnson). The 1990 champion Nick Faldo was in the penultimate group.

• Woods has never come from behind to win at a major championship after trailing through 54 holes, having been a leader or co-leader at all 14 of his major wins.

• Here are the scoring averages for the week: 72.250 on Thursday, 73.739 on Friday, 72.119 on Saturday, 71.600 on Sunday and a cumulative average of 72.606.

• Mickelson's largest comeback after trailing through 54 holes was 6 strokes at the 2000 MasterCard Colonial. Mickelson trailed Stewart Cink by six entering the final round and posted a 63 on Sunday to defeat Cink by two strokes.

• Woods’ largest comeback victory after trailing through 54 holes was 5 strokes at the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Matt Gogel, Mark Brooks) and the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Sean O’Hair). Woods shot 64 to win the AT&T event by one over Gogel and Vijay Singh, and 67 to top O’Hair by a single stroke at Bay Hill.

• With this victory, Cabrera earned his second PGA TOUR victory in his 114th career event on the PGA TOUR at the age of 39 years, seven months. His other win, of course, was the 2007 U.S. Open. He also owns 17 international wins.

• His victory gives Cabrera a five-year exemption on the PGA TOUR through the 2014 season; a lifetime Masters invitation; five-year exemptions to THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship; and an invitation to 2010 Mercedes-Benz Championship.

• Argentina has accounted for three major championships, with Cabrera and his two joining Roberto De Vicenzo (1967 British Open).

• Cabrera is the second consecutive international Masters champion (Trevor Immelman, South Africa) and the fourth since 2000 (Vijay Singh, Fiji, 2000; Mike Weir, 2003, Canada).

• Cabrera was the only player at the 2009 Masters to open with three rounds in the 60s. He is the 11th player in Masters history to do so, and the first since Trevor Immelman last year. No player has even posted four rounds in the 60s in a single Masters Tournament.

• Cabrera is the first player to claim two major championships as his first two PGA TOUR events since Peter Thomson, who won the British Open in 1954-55 and played what is now considered the PGA TOUR schedule (17 events in 1954, 18 events in 1955).

• In six previous major starts since winning the 2007 U.S. Open, Cabrera’s best finish was a tie for 20th at the 2008 PGA Championship.

• Cabrera jumped from No. 132 into the top 15 in the FedExCup standings with a total of 716 points (600 earned this week for Masters victory). His $1.35 million check brings his season total to $1,543,445.