Kenny Perry became the latest player to choke when in sight of claiming one of the major championships when he lost out to Angel Cabrera in a sudden death play-off at the US Masters.

Perry, 48, looked set to enter the history books as the oldest winner of a major when he led by two shots, only to bogey the last two holes.

Forced to play-off against Cabrera and Chad Campbell, the disappointment of failing to seal victory proved to be too much for Perry to overcome.

Greg Norman is one player who will sympathise with Perry, having missed out on several majors when he was leading.

To be fair to Norman, however, he never collapsed as spectacularly as Jean van der Velde did in the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.

Van der Velde memorably triple bogeyed the last hole when a six would have won him the title. The Frenchman then lost in a play-off to Paul Lawrie.

The memory of that day must haunt Van der Velde and Perry will surely have similar nightmares when he re-lives the last two holes at Augusta.

As well as Perry’s collapse, this year’s tournament will be remembered for players at the beginning and end of their careers making the headlines.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy impressed on his Masters debut and looks to be a star in the making.

The 19-year-old caught the eye of veteran South African Gary Player, who made his farewell appearance at Augusta at the age of 73.

Player tipped McIlroy for great things, saying that he could “turn out to be the best player in the world in his time”.

Coming from one of the all-time greats in the game, that is some accolade.

It seems somehow fitting that the respective careers of McIlroy and Player overlapped.

McIlroy can only hope that in decades to come he makes a similar impact on the game as Player.

For the record, Player won nine majors. No pressure there, then.

Thanks for the memories, Gary. Over to you, Rory.

–Nick Johnson, Red U.K. Editorial Staff

Going into Sunday’s final round at Augusta, Kenny Perry said people tend to think of him as “nice guy, good golfer” and that he wanted to change that in a way that only a Masters green jacket can do so.

Well, the needle didn’t budge for Perry on Sunday, unless you count maybe some voodoo on the 48-year-old.

Come on, the guy bogeyed just four of his first 70 holes, then clunked both No. 17 and 18 to fall into a three-way tie with Chad Campbell (who stayed high on the leaderboard start to finish and showed why he has made three straight U.S. Ryder Cup teams) and Angel Cabrera (the Argentine with the belly who looks, I swear, like he would fit into any public-course foursome just as happily as playing among the azaleas; one of my grizzled media friends says he fully expects Cabrera to walk up to the first hole at some tournament and “just light up a smoke” before teeing off).

Perry had a 15-footer for par and a Masters victory on the 18th. He pushed his putt two/three inches wide on the line. All this after a shot-of-his-life 8-iron over the water for birdie and a two-stroke lead with two holes to play. Smart bloggers were posting Perry’s first three rounds at No. 17 and 18, not a bogey in sight.

Until Sunday. “It just seems like when you get down to those deals, I can’t seem to execute,” said Perry, not sparing the candor. “Great players make it happen, and your average players don’t. So that’s the way it is. I just didn’t get the job done again (he lost h 1996 PGA down the stretch), and I’ll look back the rest of my life saying what could have been.”

That’s a nice guy, honest guy, and clearly a good golfer. Perry has won four tournaments in the past 12 months and lost two in playoffs. He was a key member of the Ryder Cup team that won the competition in his home state of Kentucky. Sunday was not his moment.

Cabrera, on the other hand, got the bounces most all day. He actually shanked a shot at No. 8 but survived it. His tee shot on the first playoff hole landed in the tall pines, laying in the pine straw. Cabrera did what only a rec-player can appreciate. He looked to punch his ball through a tiny opening among the trees. What he heard after his shot was ball striking tree limb, not good. Cabrera look left, right, all around to see where the ball landed. He didn’t see it, but his caddie saw and pointed to the fairway.

That carom off the tree went maybe 100 yards after that. Cabrera scrambled for par as Campbell missed a five-footer and stepped aside. Cabrera collected his second major–he won the 2007 U.S. open, edging Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a stroke–when Perry scuffed his fourth straight approach to the green in his last four holes

Cabrera was clearly thrilled at slipping into the green jacket, while you know somewhere nearby, maybe assuring a family member everything was going to be fine, Kenny Perry was being a nice guy. It’s tough to win majors when you lead most of the way and even tougher if you are trying to change the unchangeable.

–Bob Condor, Red Editorial Staff

Here’s the thing about Kenny Perry, who is closer to 49 than 48 and is tied for the Masters lead with Chad Campbell at Augusta’s halfway mark.

He’s a good player, and hey, Kenny, loved your toughness for America’s Ryder Cup team, but Perry is not going to win this golf tournament.

Neither is Campbell, though he might come close, which he did in 2006 finishing third. It’s just too hard to lead at Augusta start to finish. It’s too hard to lead any tournament start to finish.

Another guy who is not going to win this tournament? Sandy Lyle, who at 51, is 2-under and tied with Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington among others, seven shots off the lead. Lyle won at Augusta in 1988, just one year after Larry Mize, who transposed his Thursday 67 into a Friday 76.

Lyle hasn’t finished in any Masters top 10 since his win two decades ago, but he somehow managed to birdie five straight holes on the back nine. Maybe he was channeling the legacy of Gary Player, who shot his last competitive round ever at Augusta Friday, finishing dead last in strokes but far and away ahead of the field in standing ovations, with 36 on 36 approaches to the green in the first two days. Player was, well, a player in the Era of Nicklaus and Palmer.

Gary Player is the original Man in Black. Very cool to see last year’s Masters champ and fellow countryman Trevor Immelman there to greet Player after his round. So maybe Lyle stole his fairway soul or one of his black shirts or perhaps just decided, hell, if Gary Player is still whacking the golf ball around at 73, looking like the stud he remains and getting on one knee to salute the crowd approaching No. 18, then maybe, I, me, Sandy Lyle can avoid embarrassing myself like last year when I busted past 80 at Augusta.

Maybe that’s why Tiger looked so ticked off coming off the course Friday, being tied with a 51-year-old who has no more of a chance winning this golf tournament than someone on the Red editorial staff (nobody who wears checkered pants here). Tiger is also one stroke behind Phil Mickelson, who drained a birdie putt at 18 and made a tap-in–tapped it in, dude–on 13.

Tiger missed putts he tends to make at 9, 10, 11, 13 and 18. He shanked an approach shot into the bunker at 18 (OK, so that’s probably the reason why he looked so furious after his round). He is seven strokes back and probably mad enough and prepared enough (he was at the driving range for an intense hour after Friday’s loop) to get back into contention by the back nine on Sunday. But, for the record, Tiger’s best comeback in a major after 36 holes was six strokes at the 2005 Masters.

The story of the day, though, was Anthony Kim, another Ryder Cupper. This is his first Masters (hard to believe) and he played like it Thursday, carding 75 on a relatively easy course.

So the 23-year-old Superstar in the Making turns it around with a 65 Friday–and he did it with a bogey and double bogey at the turn. He finished 11 birds for the day. I like his bravado if not as much his chances this weekend. For the victory, look for Steve Stricker (3-under) and Hunter Mahan (also 3-under).

Both guys are flying under the radar and lately that seems to be the Augusta way.

–Bob Condor, Red Editorial Staff

The 1987 Oscar winners for Best Supporting Actress and Actor were Cher (Moonstruck) and Sean Connery (The Untouchables). Well, Larry Mize is no Sean Connery but he’s always been a sort of supporting-actor type on the PGA Tour.

Except for one starring role–the 1987 Masters when he beat Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros in a playoff. Ballesteros was eliminated on the first playoff hole and Norman watched the green jacket slip past when Mize sank a 140-foot chip on the second playoff hole (No. 11).

Mize grew up in Augusta, so you know that victory was sweet. He came close again in 1994, leading at the halfway mark and finishing tied for third. Mize turned 50 last September, so yes, he is likely to clean up on the seniors tour, especially if he keeps putting his Titlest in the fairways. He finished Thursday’s first round 5-under, two shots out of the lead and three shots ahead of Tiger Woods, 2007 champ Zach Johnson and, drum roll, Greg Norman, who is back for more. More of what is for you to decide.

Norman is playing with his young-adult son on his bag, catching up for lost time or so the media reports say. It’s actually a brilliant tactical move when you think about it. While Norman privately is likely visualizing himself in green, he can lay down the disappointment by hugging his son and smiling that dazzling smile at his wife, the equally dazzling Chris Evert, and go into the Sunday Georgian night feeling about as whole as a golf legend can get.

No offense to Mize. Hey, he has won the Masters and I have not. It’s just that Norman, well, there’s a Sean Connery seem-alike for you. Heck, you might even have conjured him dating Cher at one time, particularly during that Moonstruck period.

Or maybe not. Back to golf.

Augusta played easy enough Thursday to bring home 38 minuses, which is too many under-par rounds for Billy Payne and the Augusta members.

Chad Campbell shot a 65, while Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan nailed 66s. All Americanos and all solid golfers–did you know Campbell has made three straight Ryder Cup teams?  And here I thought he was Glen Campbell’s son since, hey, he kinda looks like him; and didn’t they name a golf tournament after Campbell at some point, or am I just looking for something to muse while we wait for Tiger to pounce this weekend?

If you are wondering, Phil Mickelson is 1-over and not likely out of it. The guess here is that he toughens up Friday along with golf course, and that most of the field falls back to him. But don’t expect Tiger to tumble and, dun-dun, dun-dun, Padraig Harrington is a 3-under after the first 18.

Old Pad, of course, is going for his third straight major and this one would be his most toothsome with Tiger in the field. I like Geoff Ogilvy and Ian Poulter (find your bookie on this guy if you still can), who are both 1-under and, stubborn or not, I still take a shine to Paul Casey’s chances despite shooting only an even-par 72 on Thursday. You would be surprised at how much fun it might be to watch Poulter or Casey not flinch on the back nine with Tiger on Sunday.

But let’s face it. The leading man is still Tiger. Only Norman can truly steal his show. Here’s hoping that kid knows something about caddying or somehow can channel some Larry Mize.

–Bob Condor, Red Editorial Staff

The Masters? Harder to kid around about this golf tournament. Well, actually, with Phil Mickelson involved, there is always room for a joke or two. That’s what shooting 9-over at the Shell Houston Open (!) and missing the cut by 10 strokes (!!) can do to you.

Yet Mickelson says he is the playing best golf of his career (insert joke here) and that, at 38, he is primed for the next five years to play like, well, Phil Mickelson before three summers ago when he brain-freezed himself out of a third straight major victory by losing the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

OK, enough Lefty, who has won twice in the six weeks on the Tour. Let’s talk about why the Masters is about to turn Easter celebrations into brunch rather than dinner this Sunday. The potential for Tiger Woods to thrill around Amen Corner and maybe hit the greens on 13 and 15 with chances for eagle? Come on, you can put off the coconut vanilla lamb cake to see that.

The golf pundits (you know who are; or maybe you know who you think are) are rubbing their palms at the prospects of four sunny days and golf balls rolling for extra yardage. Funny, that strategy worked well on the public course I played as a high school kid but Augusta is supposed to actually have grass.

More anticipation: The members at Augusta want the excitement back, so they are setting up the course and pin placements to tempt players to take chances (hello, Lefty) and pretty much tailor most holes to fit the swagger in Tiger’s game rather than say, Zach Johnson’s short-game accuracy or Trevor Immelman’s solid all-around play that is about fun to watch as your great aunt invited over for Easter dinner (uh, honey, can it be late?) showing off her knitting, blocking the screen as Tiger is about to putt for that eagle on 15.

Tiger made some of his own comments a few weeks back about “hoping the excitement is back on the back nine.” That’s code for Billy Payne, the Augusta chairman: “Hey, Billy, you have me on speed-dial. Call me and we can talk about just how the course sets up for excitement.”

Of course, Tiger has his own brand of excitement and his 72nd-hole birdie putt at Bay Hill places him squarely as the favorite this weekend. But don’t rule out the strong nerve of England’s Paul Casey or the underrated big-play capabilities of Geoff Olgivy. Sergio Garcia? Never happen, but that would be exciting, though nothing would be better for spoiling Easter dinner than Greg Norman making a charge that doesn’t implode.

Gee, we can dream just a bit on Thursdays, can we not? I’ll take an espresso with the lamb cake.

–Bob Condor, Red Editorial Staff

It’s that time of the year when a collection of men who wear all sorts of strange clothing including plus-fours and garish sweaters have their eyes on a green jacket.

We are of course talking about the US Masters, which is the first major golf tournament of the year.

Before we take a look at the competitors and try and work out who is likely to come out on top, you may be wondering–as I was–why the winner of the tournament is handed a green jacket.

Well, the tradition started in 1949. It had been agreed a decade earlier that club members would wear green jackets to set themselves apart from spectators.

The recipient of the jacket is allowed to keep it for 12 months and then has to return it to the club. He must then wear it during any future visits to the club, helping to solve the age-old dilemma of what to put on.

The green jacket is handed to the tournament winner by the previous year’s champion, who must try and resist any temptation to say, “Ooh, suits you, sir” as he helps with the fitting.

In the event of someone successfully defending the title, the honour of handing over the jacket goes to the Augusta National Club President.

Back to on-course matters now. Tiger Woods, who is playing in his first major since undergoing knee surgery, is the favourite to win. No shocks there, then.

Tiger’s main rival, Phil Mickelson, is also fancied to emerge victorious on Sunday.

But it would be foolish to think this is merely a two-horse race.

Trevor Immelman (who?) was an unlikely winner 12 months ago.

And in 2007 it was the turn of another also-ran, Zach Johnson, to don the green jacket.

Who knows, this year’s tournament could throw up another surprise name.

Paul Casey could be the brightest British hope after securing his first win on US soil in last week’s Houston Open.

Casey is now ranked sixth in the world, which is his highest-ever placing.

Of the others, Padraig Harrington and Geoff Ogilvy may have already checked their wardrobes to see if there is enough space for a particular item of clothing.

–Nick Johnson, Red U.K. Editorial Staff

For such a crucial event, The Masters is a tranquil thing to behold. While you know every golfer in the field is grappling with pressure, it’s hard not to be lulled by the serenity of the landscape while those commentators croon their way into your living room.

Golf has never been synonymous with swift surprises—like a buzzer-beating jump shot or a walk-off homer in the ninth—but rather slow lead changes, taking days to gestate. After one round of play, it looks like this year’s Masters will deliver the kind of familiarity we’re all used to, but never seem to tire of.

For the third straight time, Justin Rose was at the top after 18 holes yesterday, but currently Trevor Immelman is holding the lead after shooting another 68, putting him eight under. And Tiger? Well, Tiger is where Tiger always seems to be.

He’s lurking, biding his time.

The expectations people have of Tiger pale in comparison to the ones Tiger holds of himself, but no matter how you look at it, Tiger had an uncharacteristically rough go of it yesterday. He even looked eerily mortal at one point, shooting two over par through 14 holes without a single birdie. It wasn’t long before Tiger’s mediocrity gave way to criticism, as is the case when your name is Tiger Woods.

Tiger’s critics, like Tiger’s career, are lacking in moderation. Critics are quick to point out that Tiger hasn’t made a birdie in his last 34 holes at Augusta National, that yesterday he was “unable” to make rudimentary shots. Now people are beginning to wonder if Augusta has been “Tiger-proofed.”

That’s a bit much. Tiger is usually quiet when he isn’t wearing red.

To be fair to the rest of the field, Tiger’s absence from serious contention allowed others to enjoy the spotlight yesterday.

Ian Poulter became the 11th man in history make a hole-in-one on the 16th at The Masters, where people have made the most aces than any other hole on the course. “Don’t get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven’t played to my full potential,” said Poulter. “When that happens, it will be just me and Tiger.”

Yikes. That’s a tall order. But you’ve got to admire his moxy.

Phil Mickelson also had some favorable bounces, leaving him four under yesterday. As I write this column, Mickelson is three under through 11.

As for Tiger, he should be teeing off right about now. If he continues his “rope-a-dope” approach to Augusta, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tiger makes the rest of the field sweat by the time he wraps up the back nine. Golf is a waiting game. Patience is a virtue in Augusta, and Tiger has proved time is on his side.

Time and time again.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff.

First off, I’ll admit it. Red is a huge fan of the late, great sports columnist Jim Murray. There was no better writer in the sports world to capture an event that turned upside down, like we all saw this weekend at the Masters. So, with all apologies and props to Mr. Murray . . .

Will the real Masters tournament stand up and start playing . . . please? We know what the Masters is all about. It’s the Big Stage where the Big Names—Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Woods—show up on Wednesday and get their next green jackets on Sunday afternoon. The Opens, the PGA—those are for the plebes. The Masters is all about tradition, baby. Traditional course, traditional attire, traditional winners.

What we saw this weekend was clearly a bunch of cleverly-disguised imposters pretending to be Tiger, Phil, Vijay and Davis. They had to be fakes—how else can you account for the shanks, hooks and blown putts that are the sole province of mortal hackers? And giving the jacket to a guy named Zach Johnson? Second PGA win, period? This had to be a fake Augusta, too. Windy and cold? Nope, not our REAL Masters.

I’m waiting for the man behind the curtain to step out and tell us all it’s really the Great Oz, and to forget what we just saw. It almost makes me long for the days of Hootie Johnson.

RED

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Did you hear about NASA’s decision to kill the cosmic-ray detector?
They spent $1.5 billion on research for this machine, designed to find anti-matter, only to say there’s no room for it on any shuttle. Ever.

Well, I say we stop wasting time on foolish research and study the things that really matter: like the Masters Effect.

You know what I’m saying. You’re home on Saturday, glued to your sofa watching golfers turn down Amen Corner, right onto the doorstep of Rae’s Creek. And then, all of a sudden….you HAVE to grab your putter, a golf ball and a coffee mug. And there you are, on the carpet, linoleum, or hardwood floor, giving it your best Ben Crenshaw.

This doesn’t happen at the British Open – heck, watching the British Open leaves me wanting to trim the weeds. The U.S. Open? Maybe I’ll hit the chipping green. But the Masters? It never fails to reinforce my Tin-Cup delusions.

The research I spoke of would be simple – just confirm that the sight of wide fairways, green jackets and garish yellow polo shirts have the same effect on everybody.

As for my picks this week, you’d have to be a sucker to say anyone but Tiger. But one guy to watch is Charles Howell III, who seems ready to break through. What’s more, he’s a local, so he knows Augusta well. I wish I could say Chris DiMarco will be a factor – and given his Gator roots, he’s got plenty of karma going – but his game just doesn’t look…right.

RED

Get Red exclusively in Pocket Express - just go to Sports and look for Red’s new commentary under The Masters throughout the tournament.