Woods wins fourth Masters in playoff

For the fourth time in his career, Tiger Woods donned the prestigious green jacket as the Masters champion.

What looked like a runaway victory by Woods when the fourth round began on Sunday turned into a fight right down to the finish. Woods needed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat a persistent Chris DiMarco.

Woods also won the Masters in 1997, 2001 and 2002.

The tournament win will probably put aside all questions about Woods's slump.

Until Sunday, he hadn't won a major championship since the 2002 U.S. Open – a span of 10 tournaments – and was knocked off his pedestal as the world's best golfer.

But now, Woods has reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the world from Vijay Singh, who tied for fifth at 4-under-par 284 with Canada's Mike Weir.

"I've kind of battled the last couple of years," said Woods. "I've been working hard on my game and made some changes but I wasn't winning major championships.

"I contended a couple of times and didn't win but, for the most part, I wasn't in contention on the back nine of a major, which is where you want to be."

Weir was actually sitting all alone in third place at 7-under-par with three holes to go but finished with three straight bogeys. His top-10 finish is still a nice result after missing the cut as defending champion last year.

Retief Goosen and Luke Donald tied for third, seven shots behind.

Unlike past championship wins, Woods had to work hard for this one.

In a spectacular finish, DiMarco battled back in the final round to force Woods to make some improbable shots and keep his slim lead.

One of those was the shot of the tournament on the par-3, 16th hole, when he chipped up shot up a slope and watched it crawl 25 feet down to the cup. It paused for two full seconds before dropping in the hole for a birdie.

What happened over the next two holes was even more amazing. Known as one of the greatest clutch golfers, Woods bogeyed his next two holes to give DiMarco an opening to force the playoff.

DiMarco made the par putt on No. 18 and pumped his fist in the air.

"This was a good gut check for me," DiMarco said. "I felt like I proved a lot to myself."

DiMarco had his inconsistent stretches, as well.

Holding a four-stroke lead when the rest of the third round continued on Sunday, DiMarco struggled to a 41 on the back nine to post a 2-over 74, while Woods tore up the course, tying a Masters record with seven straight birdies.

By the start of the final round in the afternoon, the two had switched places and Woods held a three-stroke advantage.

DiMarco, who has three PGA tour victories on his resume, has encountered a lot of hard luck at Augusta National Golf Course.

He was in the final group with Mickelson last year, but recorded a disastrous final round 76.