Argentina's Angel Cabrera soared 51 places to 18th in Monday's world rankings after securing his second major victory at the US Masters. The 39-year-old became the lowest-ranked player to win the coveted Green Jacket since the rankings began in 1986 when he defeated Americans Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a three-way playoff at Augusta National on Sunday. Cabrera's triumph also helped him leap 145 positions to third in the European Tour's inaugural Race to Dubai, behind leader Geoff Ogilvy of Australia and Britain's Paul Casey. Cabrera won the 73rd Masters on Sunday in a sudden-death playoff with some unlikely help from a tree. Cabrera, who had not won a title since claiming his first major at the 2007 US Open at Oakmont, made a par on the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th, to defeat Kenny Perry, who at 48 could have become golf's oldest major champion. Campbell, who joined Perry and Cabrera in finishing 72 holes at Augusta National Golf Club on 12-under par 276, was ousted on the first playoff hole - the par-4 18th - when he missed a four-foot par putt. Cabrera smashed his tee shot on the first playoff hole behind a tree right of the fairway, where his rivals reached. Instead of pitching out, Cabrera took a risky hook right of the massive pine and thwacked his ball off a tree. Even countryman Maradona's famous football World Cup goal would have a hard time topping the lucky bounce Cabrera received as Cabrera asked caddie Ruben Yorio where the ball landed. “He said, ‘We're fine. It's in the fairway,'” Cabrera said. Cabrera fired his approach six feet past and made par to continue after Campbell collapsed and Perry struggled to a par only to be undone a hole later. The playoff moved to the 10th, where Cabrera found the green in two as Perry sent his approach left of the green, saying: “I was juiced up and I hit it too far over the green.” Perry, who was two strokes ahead with two holes remaining in regulation, chipped across the green and missed a comeback putt to seal his fate as Cabrera two-putted from 10 feet for victory and a $1.35 million top prize. Cabrera, the 17th winner in the past 18 Masters from the final pairing, and Perry each shot 71 Sunday. Campbell shot 69. A day that saw Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson make astonishing runs at the leaders from seven strokes off the pace ended with the first South American winner of the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy. Woods had three birdies and an eagle on par-5 holes and birdied the par-3 16th to join Mickelson on Perry's heels as Cabrera went one-over on the front nine. But a bogey-bogey finish doomed Woods' bid for a 15th major title. Mickelson matched a Masters record with a six-under 30 on the front nine, but sent a 9-iron into Rae's Creek at the par-3 12th for a double bogey and even with two birdies in the next three holes could not recover, missing two short birdie putts and taking a bogey at 18. Japan's Shingo Katayama's birdied 18 to finish fourth on 278, matching his best major result from the 2001 PGA Championship. Mickelson was fifth on 279, one stroke ahead of fellow Americans Woods, John Merrick, Steve Stricker and Steve Flesch.
