• The Masters, Round Four

Majestic Mickelson claims third Masters title

Phil Mickelson found an extra gear on the final day © Getty Images

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Phil Mickelson's extra class was made to tell during the final round of the 2010 Masters as the world No. 3 hit a five-under-par 67 to clinch his third green jacket by three shots at Augusta.

Winner of the event in 2004 and 2006, Mickelson began the day one shot adrift of England's Lee Westwood, who stayed with the American until the turn, when Mickelson quickly established a two-shot advantage from which he never looked back. Single-putts at seven, eight, nine and 10 provided a yardstick for the new champion's consistency, during a round in which even a stray twig - which unsettled his ball at the second hole - could not stop the lefty.

Mickelson's approaches to the greens were faultless all day, most notably when he produced a quite miraculous shot out of heavy rough at the 13th to set up an eagle opportunity. The four-time Major winner eventually triumphed with an overall score of 16-under, three shots ahead of closest rival Westwood.

European No. 1 Westwood was seemingly hampered by nerves early on as he shanked his opening tee shot on his way to a bogey at the first. However, he recovered admirably to register a one-under 71 as Mickelson was made to fight all the way during the climactic round, with Westwood, Anthony Kim, KJ Choi, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods all threatening at different stages of the day.

Anthony Kim's was the undoubtedly the round of the day, after he came from nowhere to fire a seven-under 65 that, at one stage, had him within one stroke of the lead. Six birdies and an eagle at the par-five 15th swept Kim up the leaderboard to 12-under, leaving him third behind Westwood.

Tiger Woods' dreams of a fairytale comeback were not to be as the world No. 1 went from the ridiculous to the sublime en route to a three-under 69, which saw him finish tied for fourth on 11-under alongside KJ Choi.

Three bogeys on the first five holes appeared to have ended Woods' challenge, but a marvellous eagle two at the seventh kick-started a brief renaissance as he reached the turn. After a bogey at the 11th and a birdie at the 13th, Woods should then have added another birdie at the 14th, but he somehow contrived to three-putt a simple three-footer to effectively end his challenge.

Tiger Woods had little control over his ball © Getty Images

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Ian Poulter's challenge fell away over the weekend after sharing the halfway lead with Westwood, carding a disappointing 74 on Saturday before a one-over 73 during the final round. The world No. 7 finished tied for 10th on five-under alongside Ricky Barnes.

"I'm frustrated. I didn't hit it well off the tee on Saturday and when you do that you're not going to make a good score," Poulter told the BBC. "It's a game of fractions on this course. I played well at times but didn't get rewarded for it. 10-under-par...I'm not satisfied."

It was a case of too little, too late for Ernie Els as he finally regained the kind of form that saw him triumph at the WGC-CA Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year. Having begun the day on three-over-par, Els hit a four-under 68 that included five birdies to re-establish some respectability to his score.

The South African finished level with 2009 champion Angel Cabrera who, having treated everybody to Argentinean steak at the traditional pre-tournament dinner, remained out of the spotlight throughout the competition to close on one-under alongside Adam Scott.

Like Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez also captured some final round magic, hitting a six-under 66 to break the 70 barrier for the first time, lifting him to three-under for the tournament. However, compatriot Sergio Garcia finished his tournament on a low note after he carded his worst round with a six-over 78. The Spaniard failed to go sub-70 throughout the four days, and he ended the weekend on 10-over-par.

Italian starlet Matteo Manassero can be hugely satisfied with his performance after he finished with an even par 72 on Sunday. The 16-year-old, who became the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters on Friday, finished four-over-par ahead of players of the calibre of Retief Goosen, Zach Johnson, and Mike Weir.

However, the shot of the final round came from Ryan Moore, who produced a hole in one at the par-three 16th to set up a four-under finish.

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