As I watched the coverage of the Masters, golf’s grandest tournament of all and one of the highlights of my sports calendar, the inevitable result brought a smile to this frustrated golfer’s lips. Displaying steady nerves and even steadier play, Trevor Immelman trounced the competition from wire to wire. And just when everybody, most notably the media, was endlessly harping on a

Tiger Grand Slam, Immelman did it his way and was awarded the coveted green jacket with a score of -8, 3 shots ahead of the world's number one, and 6 strokes ahead of the world's number two.

I never paid much attention to Trevor Immelman before this year’s Masters. Sure, I’ve seen him play more than a couple of times but he was just one of the also-rans to me, a golfer with a Scandinavian sounding name I paid little attention to. But all that changed this week. I loved watching him play. His poise and focus were very evident as he walked the course with his head down, concentrating on every shot. The crowds were loud and supportive and he tipped his hat often, but he never lost focus of what he was trying to do. And even when he holed his final putt to win, there was no Tiger-like fist pump - no "YES!" - no antics of any kind. He was calm, quiet and gracious.

My admiration of the guy was brought to an even higher level after learning of what he had been through before this year’s Masters victory. In 2006, he was on top of the world after being named Rookie of the Year. However, in 2007, he contracted a serious virus that kept him from the game, losing 20 pounds and wondering if he would ever fully recover to join the tour. A year later, seemingly on the way to recovery and playing a few tournaments, there was another setback. He was hospitalized to remove a tumor on his ribcage that later turned out to be benign. Ordinary mortals would have given up, I certainly would have. But not Trevor Immelman. He bounced back to win the biggest tournament in all of golf and beat the world’s top players in the process, the big guns.

This win is refreshing news for golf as this proves that the field is deep and that there are other players to watch out for. We have focused so much of our attention on Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and the other big guns that we often limit the chances of others, especially in the major tournaments. Don’t get me wrong, I like Tiger Woods and I admire what he has achieved so far. I’m even a bigger fan of Mickelson, with his calm demeanor and steady play. But golf is not just about the superstars, and two players in the 2008 Masters top three have proven that – Immelman and Brandt Snedeker, the tour’s Rookies of the Year in the last two years.

Tiger and Phil will certainly win more tournaments in the future. Tiger might even eclipse Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of major wins. But Trevor Immelman and the rest of the pack have just served notice that they’re also in the hunt, and will put up a big fight at every tournament. (Image courtesy of AP via Yahoo News)

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Immelman wins Masters: why it's refreshing news for golf

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