AUGUSTA - Trevor Immelman has gone from the outhouse to the clubhouse.
The clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club, with the little room on the second floor full of lockers hung with green jackets.
Immelman will dress in the Champions Locker Room each April for the next several decades by virtue of his three-shot win Sunday in the 72nd Masters Tournament.
And he did it one year after a stomach parasite forced him to "sleep in the bathroom" during his week in Augusta. He finished with a 21-over-par score after barely making the cut at the 2007 Masters; he posted an 8-under total Sunday.
Immelman led after all four rounds this weekend, becoming the first champion since Raymond Floyd in 1976 to lead wire-to-wire. He's the first South African Masters winner since Gary Player won the last of his three green jackets in 1978.
Player contributed to Immelman's victory. Immelman had never slept on a 54-hole lead in a major championship before Saturday night, so Player left him an encouraging voice message before bedtime.
"Take your time and keep your eyes on the ball an extra second on putts," Player said. "There will be bad breaks and I know you're going to win."
Immelman played as if he knew it, too. He began the day at 11-under, three shots ahead of the field.
He bogeyed the first hole when he sliced his tee shots into the trees along the right side. But instead of wilting, he gathered himself. He got the lost shot back temporarily with a birdie at No. 5 only to bogey No. 8.
He played even-par golf the rest of the way, making three clutch putts in Amen Corner: One for par from the fringe at No. 11, a slippery one downhill for bogey at No. 12 and a short one for birdie at No. 13.
And while he grinded his way through the gauntlet, his challengers began to fade.
Playing partner Brandt Snedeker, who started the day two shots back, made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch starting at No. 11.
Steve Flesch, three shots back Sunday morning, left his tee shot at the par-3 12th short and in Rae's Creek. He made double bogey there, then bogeyed four straight holes starting at No. 14.
Paul Casey, four strokes behind to start his round, shot an inexplicable 7-over 79. He gave up six shots in a five-hole stretch on the first nine and scrambled to finish at even-par for the tournament in a tie for 11th.
As for Tiger Woods, who seemed so confident despite a seven-shot deficit coming into the weekend and a six-shot disadvantage on Sunday, never got any closer than three shots. He fired an even-par 72 to finish at 5-under and alone in second place.
Missed putts at Nos. 13 and 14 effectively ended Woods' chances, as Immelman's birdie at No. 13 gave him a six-shot lead with five holes to go. Woods made a birdie putt at No. 18 only to wave at the ball disgustedly as if to say "Now it goes in."
"I didn't make any putts all week," Woods said. "I hit the ball well enough to put pressure on Trevor on the back nine but didn't putt well enough."
Snedeker and Stewart Cink finished in a tie for third at 4-under, four strokes behind Immelman. Flesh finished two shots further back in a tie for fifth with Harrington and Mickelson, two major champions who never challenged on the weekend.
A third-round 75 sidetracked Mickelson while Harrington couldn't come back from a 74 in the opening round.
"Trevor will be a deserved winner," Harrington said. "I feel like it's his week."
Immelman made one major mistake down the stretch but not until his rivals were off the course and couldn't take advantage. He hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th hole into the water left of the green and made double bogey.
"It was so tough; I was just trying to be tough," Immelman said. "I kept telling myself, 'Hang in there and play one shot at a time.' There's a disaster around every corner as I showed at No. 16. I can't believe I did it."
