Angel Cabrera wins the 2009 Masters for his second major championship victory. Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open defeating Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk down the stretch. While he felt (or heard) Tiger today and Furyk was in the second to last pairing, it was Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell who Cabrera had to outlast over the final few holes at Augusta on this Easter Sunday.
It was Kenny Perry's tournament to lose and he did just that. Leading Cabrera by two shots with two holes to play, Perry proceeded to bogey seventeen and eighteen inviting Cabrera and Chad Campbell into a three man playoff.
"This brings back a lot of bad memories. It reminds me so much of the '96 at Valhalla it's scary", said the defeated Perry. "I'll take a lot from it though." Perry lost to Mark Brooks in a playoff at Valhalla in the '96 PGA Championship. A loss that he still hasn't let go of, but one that also inspired him to compete on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year. "I still haven't let the 96 PGA get a way and I'm sure this will stick with me, I'll just add to the memories."
Early during the final round on Sunday it looked to be a story for the ages, but not because of anything Kenny Perry was doing. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson teed off an hour before the final group and took with them the majority of the Augusta National patrons. Fireworks were abundant in the Woods / Mickelson pairing as the two posted a combined 9 under par over their first nine holes. Kenny Perry posted nine pars over the same stretch of golf course on Sunday, however maintaining a one shot lead as he headed to the back nine.
After a near birdie miss on eleven, Perry made a surprising birdie on the difficult par 3, 12th. A great tee shot and second shot on the par 5, 13th hole left Perry 25 feet away for eagle and an opportunity to separate himself from the competition. "They asked me in the press if there was one shot to take back and I said the first putt on 13. I knew the putt, knew the break, but couldn't believe how fast it was. I hit a poor putt there on my second one. It was straight in and just had to hit it and I babied it," said Perry.
Perry bounced back on 15 with a two putt birdie, escaping a mediocre at best 5-iron approach shot. Perry pulled his approach and didn't catch all of it, prompting his caddy to ask the question, "did you get enough of it?". Fortunately he did get enough to find the left side of the green and was able to get his ball down in two, moving him to 13 under par for the tournament.
On the par 3, 16th hole, Perry hit what appeared to be the shot of the tournament, "I was in control of my game through 16 holes, hit the greatest 8 iron of my life there at 16 to go 2 up", said Perry. Perry's 8-iron rolled within inches of the hole, leading to his second birdie in as many holes. More importantly, it gave Perry a two shot lead with two holes to play.
And then just as the greatest player in the world, Tiger Woods did an hour earlier, Perry struggled to finish. A drive to the right rough, followed by a 6 iron that rolled just over the back of the green put Perry in a position he couldn't handle, "When I get under the gun this hitch in my right hand gets away from me a ltitle bit, I can't slow it down and I hit it right in the belly and sculled it". The result was a bogey. Cabrera made par on the same hole and was within one of the lead.
When asked if he thought he had the tournament under control after his birdie on 16, Perry commented, "I never did, I knew how hard 17 and 18 were, they are great finishing holes. Seventeen is a tight driving hole with the new trees they added on the right side. Eighteen is a dog leg right and I hit it right to left. My ball is always wanting to go to those bunkers over there."
Right on cue, Perry's tee shot on 18 found one of the bunkers through the fairway. The same bunker Sandy Lyle successfully converted par from in winning his Green Jacket. Unfortunately, it appeared as the moment consumed Kenny Perry needing a par to win his first major championship. Perry pulled his 7-iron left of the green into an area essentially guaranteeing he would have nothing closer than a 15 foot putt to win the Masters. "I had a shot to win the tournament. I've seen Tiger make it. I know Mark O'Meara made that same 20 foot putt. I knew the putt, I knew it broke just a little left. It was just outside the edge and I needed to give it a little run and it came off so slow and I didn't give it a chance."
After 72 holes and the return of the Augusta roar, only three remained contending for the green jacket. Chad Campbell who started the tournament breaking the record for consecutive birdies (five) to start a round, along with Angel Cabrera who just hung around enough on this final day and Kenny Perry made their way to the 18th tee.
All three players hit at least one awful shot on the first playoff hole. But as he had throughout the entire four days, Cabrera hit enough great shots to offset his bad ones. After hitting his tee shot into the trees dividing the 18th and 10th holes and unable to recover from the pine needles, Cabrera knocked his third shot to within four feet and saved his par. Unlike 20 minutes eariler, Perry hit a remarkable tee shot to only fan an 8-iron approach shot. Perry quickly bounced back with a wondeful pitch to inches of the hole and made par. Campbell too hit a good tee shot and similar to Perry he hit a poor iron shot, finding the greenside bunker. Campbell's run ended after missing a five foot putt to save his par.
Perry and Cabrera proceeded to the 10th hole to continue the playoff and both players found the fairway with their tee shot. For the 5th time out of the last six approach shots, Perry missed the green. Sensing the time was now to pounce, Cabrera carved a tight cut into the front left of the 10th green, positioning his ball perfectly beneath the hole. Two putts later and Cabrera had the green jacket that escaped his fellow countryman, Roberto De Vincenzo decades ago.
It was Kenny Perry's tournament to lose and he did. During his post round interview, Perry shared a realization he had, "I'm a little bit better than average player. I'm not great and I realize that now inside myself. Great players make the big putts. Not everyone can be great, I'm just an average guy and I'm happy to be it." If Kenny Perry is an average guy, I'm not sure how the rest of us will ever pick up a club again with any confidence. Perry is a champion. A champion that didn't finish the task at hand on this Easter Sunday, but a champion nonetheless.
