Duval-Woods Showdown Just Wasn’t to Be

This wasn’t how it was supposed to work for David Duval and Tiger Woods, who arrived in Augusta amid hype about a two-man shootout for world supremacy . . . and nothing really much at all about a Basque short-game specialist named Jose Maria Olazabal.

Duval and Woods finished well off the pace--Duval five strokes back at a three-under-par 285, Woods nine back at a one-over-par 289, 19 strokes off his Masters tournament record in 1997.

Duval made a game attempt to make things interesting on Sunday, however, carding an eagle on No. 2 and birdies on 7, 8 and 10 to briefly pull within a stroke of the lead. But then he splashed his tee shot into the water en route to a double-bogey on No. 11 and bogeyed three of his last six holes to plummet out of contention.

His total for the afternoon: one eagle, six birdies, four bogeys, one double-bogey.

“I came in playing well and thinking well, but I failed to put it all together,” Duval said. “I came up a little short.”

Were expectations raised a bit too high for him? “I think it’s sometimes unfair to say one player should win an event,” Duval said. “You know, you can pick whoever you want every week and I’d take the field and bet you everything you want every week. Odds are, you’d lose. Heck, if you want to pick me every week, I’ll take that too.”

Woods, echoing the sentiments of most of the field, said the course “wasn’t playing easy. I made too many mistakes to go for everything. I hit a lot of great shots, and a lot of ugly ones.”

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Olazabal walked away with the green jacket and the check for $720,000, but Tom Lehman anointed a different champion Sunday: Augusta National.

“It is a chamber of horrors,” Lehman said. “It is beyond tough. The golf course definitely won the week. I have to give it credit.”

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Trevor Immelman, the 19-year-old from South Africa and the U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, finished the weekend with rounds of 78-79 and a 17-over 305.

Immelman is planning on playing the British Amateur and hopes to get into the British Open as an amateur. He says he hasn’t made a decision on turning pro.

He may not be a pro yet, but Immelman talks like one.

Said Immelman: “I’m just taking it shot by shot and day by day.”

The low amateur was British amateur champion Sergio Garcia, 19, of Spain, whose final-round 73 put him at seven-over 295 in his first Masters.

It is expected Garcia will turn pro next week, but he said he hasn’t decided yet.

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For what it’s worth, Woods has entered next week’s MCI Classic at Hilton Head, S.C., for the first time. Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Colin Montgomerie are also entered. Love is the defending champion.

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Augusta National will donate $2.9 million to charity from this year’s Masters.

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Putting is important at the Masters, but only if you want to win. And avoiding three-putts is a necessity. Since 1993, here are the winners’ putts and number of three-putts:

Bernhard Langer, 109 total putts, no three-putts; Olazabal, 111 and none; Ben Crenshaw, 110 and none; Nick Faldo, 112 and one; Woods, 116 and none; Mark O’Meara 105 and one; Olazabal 109 and none.

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Sunday’s fourth round marked the first time since the fourth round of 1972 that nobody broke 70.

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Montgomerie finished at one-under 287, tied for 11th. His 74 was his worst round of the tournament, but he had an explanation for that.

Said Montgomerie: “The ball just didn’t want to go in.”