Trevor Immelman wins the 2008 US Masters three ahead of Woods

[The General]

After a windy final round, the winner of the 2008 US Masters golf tournament is 28-year-old South African Trevor Immelman, beating Tiger Woods by three shots for the trophy. Immelman was the 2006 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, so he is not an unknown, but no one thought he was heading straight for the Masters victory, especially the odds makers at the online sportsbook BodogSports, who had listed Trevor Immelman with 80/1 odds to win the Masters before the start of the tournament. But a perfect start, followed by punctual second and third round, gave the South African golf player eleven under par lead, while the favorite Tiger Woods was trailing behind at -5 after the third round of the 2008 US Masters. Three bogeys and a double bogey during the windy final round shook Immelman's confidence but the +3 in the final round was good enough for Trevor Immelman to be crowned the winner of the 2008 Masters Tournament. "This has been the ultimate rollercoaster ride, and I hate rollercoaster. Here I am, after missing the cut last week, Masters champion. It is the craziest thing I have ever heard," Trevor Immelman said after the tournament was over.

Immelman finished the Masters with final score of 8 under par, three shots clear from Tiger Woods, who missed the opportunity to add another trophy, despite the late rally. After the -4 in the third round, Woods went for an even final, but failed to close the gap between him and Immelman.

About Trevor Immelman: Immelman was born in Cape Town, South Africa and took up golf at the age of five. He won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1998 and turned professional the following year. In 2000 Trevor Immelman played mainly on the second tier professional tour in Europe, the Challenge Tour, and finished tenth on the Order of Merit. He became a full member of the European Tour in 2001 and has made the top twenty of the Order of Merit three times. He has three wins on the European Tour, and in 2004 Trevor Immelman became the first man to successfully defend the South African Open title since Gary Player in the 1970s. On December 13, 2007 Immelman withdrew from the South African Airways Open due to severe discomfort around his ribcage area and a problem breathing. He went into surgery the following Tuesday, December 18, 2007, and doctors discovered a lesion approximately the size of a golf ball on his diaphragm, later diagnosed as a calcified fibrosis tumor. After more tests they discovered that it was benign. This caused Trevor Immelman to miss the first eight weeks of the 2008 PGA Tour season.

Trevor Immelman wins the 2008 US Masters three ahead of Woods