Vijay Singh had run the gantlet known as Amen Corner.
After salvaging a bogey on the 11th after hitting his approach into the greenside pond, after getting up and down from the back bunker on the 12th, Singh had hit his second shot to the par-5 13th a mere 18 feet away. Eagle was a possibility, and birdie was a virtual lock.
Now, trailing Singh by a stroke, it was David Duval's turn.
Duval blinked.
His 5-iron approach found the tributary of Rae's Creek that fronts the 13th green. Singh two-putted for birdie, and Duval made bogey.
The two-stroke swing pushed Singh's lead to three, enough to secure his second major victory.
``I was trying to hit it in the same area that Vijay hit it, kind of up the left center of the green,'' Duval said. ``I got over the ball, the wind picked up, then it would die, and the same thing would keep happening. Then I just decided on the right line and the right club and hit a poor golf shot.''
For the record, Duval hit a 5-iron for the 196-yard shot.
When the ball found water, Duval's shoulders slumped.
A quick history lesson shows that the former Georgia Tech All-American isn't the first, and probably not the last, to see his Masters hopes vanish on the 13th.
Billy Joe Patton, an amateur, found the creek in 1954. He wound up one shot out of a playoff with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan.
Curtis Strange was set to make Masters history in 1985 when he rebounded to hold the lead entering the back nine Sunday. That changed when his 4-wood from 208 yards found the creek.
Both Patton and Strange also found the water on the par-5 15th. Duval, though, matched Singh's birdie on the 15th and came to the 18th down only two strokes. Singh's birdie and Duval's bogey made the final margin four strokes.
Duval said Singh's play didn't influence him.
``It really didn't because the pin was not in play,'' he said. ``I was just basically trying to hit it where he is, so it had no influence that way.''
Minutes before the Duval-Singh drama on the 13th hole, Tiger Woods also saw his chances of winning a second green jacket take a serious blow on the par-5 hole called ``Azalea.''
Woods had pushed his tee shot through the fairway into the pine straw. Woods gambled in his effort to go for the green, finding the swale left of the green. He pitched to about eight feet.
But the birdie putt would not drop, leaving Woods four shots behind Singh.
``I hit it (second shot) a little soft, got over the creek, then I misread the pitch and missed the putt,'' Woods said.
Amen Corner proves the turning point
