Masterpiece theater

Paired with Fuzzy Zoeller in Saturday's third round of the Masters, Retief Goosen strolled up the 18th fairway, pointed to a tree, and said there was a Titleist with a red dot stuck somewhere in the trunk.

How did he know?

It was his Titleist.

He hit it there Friday, and since he couldn't find it, the Goose was cooked. At least, that's what he figured.

He had gone into the 18th hole at 6 over and calculated he needed a par to make the cut. OK, maybe a bogey would sneak him in, too, but a double bogey? Not a chance. Yet once his ball got stuck in the tree, the best Goosen could do was a double bogey. He had to re-tee, which was shot No. 3, and when he reached the green with his approach and two-putted, he had his 6 and was 8 over.

Goosen figured he had missed the cut in the Masters for the first time since 2001, but he was wrong.

A series of late-Friday stumbles -- first Brett Wetterich, then Zach Johnson -- allowed the 15 players at 8 over to get into the weekend. But if those at 8 over were busy giving thanks to the 10-shot rule, only Goosen took advantage. Not quite 48 hours after he had thought he had missed the cut, the South African was thinking he could win.

"If it happens, it will be a first," said Fred Couples early Sunday afternoon, scanning a leaderboard that showed Goosen 4 over and tied for final-round lead. "But, if it were going to happen, this would be the year."

That's because this year's Masters was unlike any of the previous 70.

Thanks to a combination of factors that were both wanted (hard, dry fairways; fast, firm greens) and unwanted (stiff northwest winds, temperatures in the 40s), the course played tougher than it had in more than 50 years. Short putts ran 10-15 feet by holes. Second shots into the par 5s were too challenging, so layups ruled. Birdies were rare. Eagles even more so. Red numbers? What red numbers?

Yet, despite the lack of roars emanating from Amen Corner and thundering in from other corners of Augusta National, there was always the belief that somehow, someway the Masters would deliver.

And it did.

The 2007 edition will never replace 1986. It can't even come close to 2004 or 1998 or 1978 or 1975 or 1962 or 1960 or 1951 . . . or whatever Masters you feel sits as a classic. But this was a good one, because it had what all great Masters must have -- suspense and drama on the back nine Sunday.

Tournament officials did what they needed to do, they softened the greens and eased up on the hole locations, and as a result, back-nine eagles and birdies increased to six and 89 on Sunday, as opposed to the two and 47 on Saturday.

It's been a long time since a final-round Masters had five players owning the outright lead at one point or another, or in which six players were tied for the top spot.

We had that Sunday.

We also had the game's best player, Tiger Woods, in the hunt, as well as an Aussie carrying his nation's hopes on his shoulders (Stuart Appleby), a young talent who's been knocking on the door of stardom for some time (Justin Rose), and above all, we had a remarkable story in the making (Goosen), for 10-shot deficits aren't supposed to be chewed up at this level.

All of them would have been great stories, but so, too, was the guy who won -- Johnson.

That he won by standing up to a Woods challenge was impressive and great for his confidence.

That he won by laying up at all 16 par 5s, yet making birdie 11 times, was a good way to silence the yahoos who say that the game is all a bombs-away mentality.

That he won by making three clutch birdies on the inward nine and shooting 34 was a vindication for the proud tournament, onto which many people were quick to pile on the criticism.

Could it have been set up differently, particularly Friday and Saturday? Probably, and I'm confident that tournament officials would like to have a mulligan for some things that were done. But in their defense, the wind and cold front were out of character, and given the importance of Sunday, tournament officials reacted to the pressure splendidly.

And because they did, the Masters once again provided the sort of drama only it can.

Major strides nonetheless

South African Tim Clark was attempting to turn the clock back a ways at Augusta last weekend -- all the way to 1920. That was the last time the winner of a major championship shot 80 in a round, and George Duncan did it twice that year at the British Open at Royal Cinque Ports GC. Of course, Clark hardly wanted any part of that history, but his third-round trouble Saturday resulted in an 80. Normally, that would have sent him to the bottom of the leaderboard, but on a day when the field average was 77.350, Clark only dropped four shots behind the leader. On Sunday, he closed with a 74 to finish joint 13th. While he was seven shots behind the winner, Zach Johnson, it was the third time in the last five years Clark has been in the top 15 at the Masters . . . Then there's Jerry Kelly, who 10 years after making his debut in the major championships can finally throw a top-10 finish on his résumé. "It's huge. Still can't believe it," said the onetime University of Hartford hockey player. When he closed with a 70--292, it gave him a share of fifth. His previous best finish in a major was a tie for 20th at Augusta in 2005. "A long time coming. It's put me in a different league," said Kelly, although we're not quite sure what he means by that. He now has played in 28 majors, with one top 10, just six top 30s, and 11 missed cuts . . . Here's another number that highlights just how popular an event the Masters is: The tournament's website, masters.org, received 106 million page views.

Pinch-hitting for Wie . . . Nancy Lopez?

The latest high-roller intent on making a splash in the world of tournament golf is Bobby Ginn, of real estate, golf resort, and NASCAR fame. He's behind two LPGA Tour events, one of which, the Ginn Open in Reunion, Fla., gets underway today. (The Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika runs May 31-June 3, in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach, Fla., was a Champions Tour stop a few weeks ago.) Like any great promoter, Ginn looks for publicity to increase ticket sales, but he didn't get what he wanted for this week -- an appearance by Michelle Wie.

According to a published report, the teenager turned down a sponsor's exemption. She is still in Hawaii, reportedly recuperating from an injured wrist while finishing her senior year in high school.

Since playing poorly in the Samsung World Championship in October, Wie hasn't been in the LPGA Tour picture, her only two appearances since then were failed attempts to play against the men in Asia and in the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Thus, to help push tickets, Ginn turned to Nancy Lopez. It remains to be seen how this will turn out. While she is arguably the most popular LPGA Tour player in 25 years, Lopez has played in only 11 tournaments since 2003 and she hasn't made a significant competitive impact since she finished joint ninth at the season opener (The Office Depot) in 2000.

Strange days. While we're being told a 50-year-old legend is rejuvenated, we keep hearing that a 36-year-old legend is losing her competitive interest. Annika Sorenstam has failed to win one of her first three starts for the first time since 1999. Even more, the incomparable Swede has finished outside the top 30 in her last two major championships after having finished no worse than 13th in 17 of her previous 19 majors.

Sorenstam often talks more passionately about her off-course pursuits than maintaining her on-course dominance. It's understandable, of course, but something tells me she's got plenty of great golf left; it's just going to take more of an effort to ignite it.

Jay Haas, last year's Champions Tour Player of the Year, is among the latest to commit to the Bank of America Championship, scheduled June 22-24 at Nashawtuc CC in Concord. Tom Purtzer, Tom Kite, Eduardo Romero, and Lanny Wadkins also recently signed up. Having won once this season, Haas currently tops the money list and he'll join colleagues Tom Watson and Curtis Strange as a first-time entrants at Nashawtuc. Commitments had previously been received from Allen Doyle, Dana Quigley, Jim Thorpe, Chip Beck, Keith Fergus, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, Jerry Pate, Don Pooley, Jay Sigel, Des Smyth, Bobby Wadkins, and Mark McNulty, who is considered the defending champ from his 2005 triumph, since the tournament was rained out last year. Longtime NEPGA standout Kirk Hanefeld has a sponsor's exemption.

Fairway news: The European PGA Tour will award a $1.34 million bonus if someone can win the Irish Open and British PGA Championship back to back in late May.

Clubhouse view: Bangers and mash to anyone who gets a pair of top 10s.

Since she was categorized as a nonexempt LPGA Tour member in 2006, Meaghan Francella is not eligible for rookie of the year this season, even though she played in just three events a year ago. Then again, the New York native probably isn't upset, given that she's already won this season and is fifth on the money list . . . Just in case you think the airlines only bungle things for the hackers and weekend duffers, major winners take a hit, too. Morgan Pressel is without the clubs she used to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship two weeks ago. "My grandfather thinks they were lost or stolen in Palm Springs [Calif.]. I actually think they made it to Fort Lauderdale and were stolen there," said the 18-year-old, who is at the Ginn Open with a new set of clubs.

Some items of note when all the scores were counted up at Augusta National:

Want to say that the par-4 11th is a bear? Vijay Singh and Scott Verplank won't argue. They each bogeyed it all four days.

J.J. Henry made four bogeys at the par-4 14th.

As for Sandy Lyle and Bradley Dredge? They saved their consistency for the 18th hole, which they both bogeyed all four days.

Jim Furyk made just three birdies on the front side -- all on par 5s -- and made just nine for the week.

Stewart Cink at the inward par 5s, Nos. 13 and 15? Would you believe 3 over, with no birdies?

Lucas Glover was all over the map at the 15th, as he made 3, 4, 5, and 7.

Similarly, there wasn't much middle room for Geoff Ogilvy on the longer holes; he was either good or bad. Playing 16 par 5s, the Aussie had just three pars; there was an eagle, 10 birdies, a quadruple bogey, and a triple bogey.

Jose Maria Olazabal failed on the par 5s, too, going 2 over with just two birdies.

If Lee Westwood was playing a modified stableford system the first three days, his scorekeeper might have quit. That's because the Englishman had just 19 pars against 14 birdies, 20 bogeys, and a triple bogey.

More problems with a cranky back had limited Fred Couples to just two rounds of competitive golf before he showed up at Augusta. Plenty of doubt swirled around his appearance, but spurred on by his passion for Augusta and the Masters, Couples made the cut for a 23d consecutive time. Surely, he had to be feeling better? "No, not at all," he said late Sunday after shooting 71--301 and tied for 30th. He said he would probably play The Players Championship (May 10-13), but didn't want to commit to much else. "It wouldn't be the end of the world to slow down for a couple of years until I'm 50," said Couples, who'll reach that age Oct. 3, 2009 . . . PGA Tour officials confirmed adding another opposite-field event, this time at that Coco Beach Golf & Country Club in Puerto Rico. It will be held at the same time as the CA Championship at Doral next March.

Maybe Couples can confer with Elise McLean, who is doing quite well at the age of 102. "For an old lady, I still hit the ball pretty well," said the Chico, Calif., woman after her first hole-in-one. McLean became the oldest person to record a hole-in-one. She used a driver at the 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park in Chico, but while McLean didn't doubt she had the talent to do so, she confessed disappointment that it took her so long. She'll be on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" April 24.