AUGUSTA, Georgia (voa) – Mike Weir has become the first Canadian to win the Masters, the first major golf tournament of the season. Weir claimed the coveted green jacket with a sudden-death playoff victory over American Len Mattiace. He is only the second left-handed player to win a major golf tournament after Bob Charles won the British Open in 1963.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Weir said of becoming the first Canadian male golfer to earn a major title. “It’s something I dreamt about for a long time. “I’ve worked very hard for it. It’s a thrill. I have a tough time putting it into words, because I won’t do it justice.”
Mattiace surged to the top of the leaderboard Sunday with a stunning seven-under-par final round to finish regulation at 7-under par 281. Weir made his own late charge to tie Mattiace and force the playoff. On the par four tenth hole, Mattiace hit an errant shot to the green and settled for a six, while Weir completed the hole in five shots.
The playoff was the first at the Masters in 13 years. American Phil Mickelson, who is still chasing his first major tournament victory, placed third at 5-under-par.
Tiger Woods fell short in his bid for a record third successive green jacket after a stunning string of errors on the front nine of the final round. A double bogey and a trio of bogeys combined to defuse the early momentum the world number one was riding after he had moved to within three shots of the lead. Woods finished in a six-way tie for 15th place at 2-over-par 290.
American Jeff Maggert had opportunities, but lost eight strokes on just two holes. Maggert hit a bunker shot that ricocheted into his chest which cost him three shots, and later hit into the water twice on another hole. He finished at 2-under-par, five shots off the lead.
The chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, Hootie Johnson, has been under fire for 10 months from Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the National Association of Women’s Organizations, because the club has refused to admit female members.
But Johnson argues that Augusta National is a private club that can set its own policies. “We are not discriminating. We resent it very much when that accusation is made against us,” he said. “If I drop dead right now, our position will not change on this issue. It is not my issue alone.”
