Schwartzel bursts out of pack at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The whole world was moving so fast for Charl Schwartzel. In fact, the whole world seemed to be assembled on that crowded international leader board. So all the South African golfer could do was rely on the first fundamental: "You've got to just breathe. Sometimes you forget to breathe."

By the time a frenzied, combustible 75th Masters ended Sunday, Schwartzel had breathing room. He birdied the final four holes, shot 66, and finished at 14 under par, with a two-stroke margin and a green jacket.

Schwartzel, 26 and playing in his second Masters, emerged from a diverse and talented pack highlighted by Tiger Woods, who once had a share of the lead. Throughout the day, Schwartzel relied on the other golf fundamentals taught to him by his father: grip, stance, rhythm, posture and balance.

"Whenever something goes wrong, it will be one of those five that have gone haywire somewhere. He always kept it simple," the champion said, dedicating his triumph to the parents who live on the chicken farm they inherited from Charl's mother's family.

He was solid, making only one bogey, and also spectacular. He made a 6-iron chip for birdie from off the first green. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard a roar that loud around me," he said.

Of course, he hadn't heard anything yet. On the third hole, he sank a 114-yard sand wedge shot for eagle. That brought him even with Rory McIlroy, who had led or shared the lead all week. And the frantic hunt was on.

Late in the afternoon, there were nine players within two shots at the top of the leader board. That included Woods, who energized the grounds with his front-nine 31 before he missed two short putts on the back. It also included Australians Adam Scott, Jason Day and Geoff Ogilvy, each trying to become the first from their country to win a green jacket.

Scott led by himself for a few minutes, after he made a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th. He did well to save par on No. 17, having put his tee shot in a bunker on the adjoining seventh hole, then he parred the 18th. But pars weren't good enough on this day.

Not while Schwartzel made an 8-footer for birdie on No. 15 and followed up with three more birdies.

"Nothing I can do about it," said Scott, 30. "I played well today and that's all I could ask for. Obviously, I can't control Charl."

Schwartzel never had won on American soil, although he had won a kind of Masters -- the 2008 Madrid Masters. He won that despite a virus and a shoulder injury. It was one of his six European Tour victories.

At Augusta, however, nothing happens without some kind of connection to the past. Schwartzel has strong ties to countryman Ernie Els, a mentor who has played well at the Masters. "I didn't think I was going to put on a green jacket before him," Schwartzel said.

There also was a long meeting early last year with six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, who told him all about how to play each hole. "The big thing for me was I had never, ever seen Augusta," Schwartzel said.

The win Sunday occurred on the 50th anniversary of countryman Gary Player's first green jacket -- the first by an international player. "History actually can be created," Player said earlier this week.

Schwartzel created his own Masters history Sunday.