Masters Champion Slays the Tiger

Four months ago, Trevor Immelman was in a hospital bed, unsure if he would ever swing a golf club again.

In December, doctors discovered a golf-ball sized lesion on his diaphragm, which was diagnosed as a calcified fibrosis tumor. Tests later showed it was benign.

Immelman’s flirtation with cancer forced him to miss the first eight weeks of the 2008 PGA season, but on Sunday he overcame incredible odds. He did not slay a dragon, but a Tiger instead. He dominated Augusta National en route to becoming the newest Masters champion.

Leading up to the Masters, Tiger Woods was on quite a roll. He won three of the four tournaments and finished fifth in the other. Woods was the clear-cut favorite to win the Masters, and several media members picked this year as the year Woods wins the official grand slam.

Tiger, take a back seat to a man named Immelman.

Thank you, Trevor. Thank you for shutting up the Woods-biased media. Thank you for winning and forcing Woods to finish second.

Remember, second place is the first loser.

So, who exactly is 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman?

Immelman, the 28-year old South African, took up golf at the ripe age of five. When he swung a club for the first time 23 years ago, he probably never imagined being crowned Masters champion on the 18th hole of Augusta.

Ironically, Immelman’s Masters victory came on the 30-year anniversary of fellow South African Gary Player’s last win at Augusta in 1978.

Unlike Woods, Immelman had struggled heading into the Masters; 8 tournaments entered – 4 missed cuts with a best finish coming at the Accenture Match Play Championship where he tied for 17th.

But then he came to Augusta National, the pinnacle American golf course where dreams come true. Europe has St. Andrew’s. America has Augusta National.

Immelman’s shaky play leading to the Masters left critics wondering if he had fully recovered from his emotional and physical flirt with cancer. But he silenced the critics and his own personal demons with an opening-round 68, which was good enough to share the lead with Justin Rose.

Of Immelman and Rose, Rose is the more household name. He has flirted with major championships in years past, but this was not his year. Rose followed his opening 68 with a second-round 78, which inevitably ended his tournament.

Immelman, on the other hand, persevered towards the Green Jacket.

Despite becoming the first wire-to-wire Masters champion since Raymond Floyd in 1976, the question around the course was the same as with any tournament in which he was not winning: Where is Tiger and will he make a charge?

Let’s get the record straight. Tiger Woods is not God. Everybody assumes that no matter how many shots behind the leader Woods may be that he can always mount a charge. Is Woods the greatest golfer in the history of the sport? That remains to be seen. Certainly he is the best golfer of his time, but everybody needs to get off the Tiger Woods bandwagon and give somebody else time in the spotlight.

It was not only an insult to Trevor Immelman (he led Tiger by 4 shots after the first round and by 7 shots after the second round), but to the game of golf to have a non-contender be the top news story at America’s greatest tournament.

The top news story should be who IS winning, not who IS NOT winning. Tiger received so much attention that somebody who did not follow golf would assume HE was the one who led the tournament from start to finish, not Immelman.

Tiger did not win. Quite honestly, he did not come close. Despite finishing second, he was more of a pretender than a contender during the weekend. Woods looked more like a hack on a public course instead of a 13-time golf major winner. He hooked and sliced balls into the pine straw all over the course, repeatedly tossed his clubs, and missed putts that were gimmies to the average golfer.

Immelman had destiny on his side. With Woods lurking on Sunday, Immelman could have folded and given Woods his fifth green jacket and 14th major championship. But he slammed the door on Woods and the rest of the field. He was determined to get that Green Jacket. Is he a walking miracle? Few people on the planet can say they flirted with cancer AND defeated Woods at the Masters all in a matter of months.

Immelman is the real deal. He has flown under the radar in recent years because Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh attract all the attention. He has finished 21st or better in each major since 2005, including a fifth-place at the Masters in 2005 and a tie for sixth-place at the 2007 PGA championship.

So, what is next for Immelman? After a tour of daytime and late-night television shows, it will be business as usual on the driving range and practice greens.

Immelman has joined an elite golfing fraternity that includes members such as Woods, Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and Byron Nelson.

Trevor Immelman is a Masters Champion.

He may win 100 tournaments or miss 100 cuts, but Masters champion is a title that will follow him for eternity.

He is a champion because of will, determination, and poise. But most importantly, he is a Masters champion because he slayed the Tiger.