By David Westin
Staff Writer

It is a feeling like none other in major championship golf: playing the devilish back nine on Sunday with the Masters Tournament in the balance.

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Today, a handful of golfers will ride the emotional rollercoaster that includes risk/reward inward holes such as Nos. 13 and 15, both par-5's that are reachable in two shots.

The back nine is a place where eagles and birdies can be around every corner, as well as double bogeys. In all, there are five holes with water on the back nine (Nos. 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16). Just one hole on the front nine, No. 2, has water.

``I can't really explain it - dreamlike, maybe?'' David Duval said of the back nine.

At age 28, Duval is getting to be an old hand at playing the back nine with one eye on a green jacket. He shot a final-round 67 in 1998, with a 3-under-par 33 on the back nine, but he lost by one shot to Mark O'Meara.

In 1999, the back nine tormented Duval. He did birdie No. 10 to pull within a shot of the leaders. His title hopes were dashed when he played the rest of the back nine in 2-over par for a 1-over-par 37 and a 70. He tied for sixth place.

Today, he'll make his way through the back nine for the third straight year with the title on the line.

``It's something I wish everybody could experience,'' Duval said. ``In 1998, I just had a ball. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. It's just a good time.''

``It's pressure, nervousness, whatever you want to call it,'' Davis Love III said of the back nine. ``It's whatever puts pressure on your life that makes you have butterflies in your stomach and be excited and scared at the same time. Whatever that is for you, that's what it feels like for us out there.''

Not many have experienced the feeling as many times as Greg Norman. The Shark has finished in the top five on eight occasions and has been second three times.

``It's just a shame you guys (the media) can't experience what we go through out there, the feelings and emotions and the shots you have to play,'' Norman said. ``Like the putt on No. 17 may be a 4-footer, but it's the fastest 4-footer, and if you miss it, it's 16 feet by.

``Lee (Janzen) and I talked about that going up No. 18 last year,'' Norman said. ``We said people have no clue how tough those 4-footers are, not a clue. And we breath a sigh of relief when we make them. Those are the things that only the players on the leaderbord know exactly what that means.''

Last year, Englishman Lee Westwood found out firsthand what Norman is talking about. Entering the back nine, Westwood was in the thick of the title picture, but ended up tied for sixth place.

``You don't realize until you stand at the top of the hill on No. 10 ... it makes you feel sick,'' Westwood said. ``That was the first time I'd been in position to win a major championship. My stomach was in knots. The Ryder Cup was not as bad.''

Unlike the other three major championships, the Masters is always played at the same course. That, plus the fact danger lurks everywhere on the back nine, sets Augusta's back nine apart from other majors.

``It's the history and the tradition,'' 1987 Masters champion Larry Mize said. ``Because the water can make so much happen, it's just incredible the intensity. It's an intense back nine trying to win that tournament. But it's fun.''

``It's exciting,'' Nick Price said. ``When you've watched and played in a lot of Masters, you know coming down the stretch that so many different things can happen. You can make a double bogey on No. 12. You can make birdies and eagles on Nos. 13 and 15. You can three-putt. You know all the pitfalls.

``You see every year, every Sunday on the back nine someone does something either badly or well,'' Price said. ``I love it. It's a wonderful atmosphere to be in the heat there on Sunday.''

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851.