Masters round four: Praise the Lord (That's not Tiger by the way)

For a few brief minutes I really thought he was going to do it. Justin Rose was on a roll and looked to have the momentum to swoop past Zach Johnson at the finish. His putting was blinding.

But the warning signs were there. “Slow down, Justin, slow down,” pleaded the BBC’s Peter Alliss as Rose raced to the 16th green for his putt. Was it nerves, the excitement of his position, or a bit of both? He seemed to be rushing into things too fast for his own good. And so it came to pass that, on the 17th hole of Augusta on Easter Sunday, my hopes, my money and England’s glory, not to mention Justin’s, were wiped out by as inept a double-bogey as you will see.

So, although there is absolutely no doubt about Justin’s ability, and even less doubt that he has the eye for Augusta National, a question mark still hangs over his ability to deliver on the big occasion. Like I said, the last Brit to win the Australian Masters before Rose last year was Colin Montgomerie.

I’m downhearted, but not bitter. I will leave the bitterness to those who took Tiger Wood’s price down to 1.6 as he briefly hit the front Sunday. More than three million pounds went on Tiger’s head at less than evens on Betfair’s win market. What a nightmare roller coaster his round must have been for punters. They must have thought their day was nigh after his amazing ‘bent iron’ recovery shot, only to see it effectively die in the bunker at the 17th.

What’s up with Tiger? Not a lot. Few players would have got themselves in such a fighting position in the first place after his previous horrors. Still, I wonder if his exceptionally comfortable life is becoming crowded out with other priorities than just winning golf tournaments - impending fatherhood, his course design and charity work, his new role as event organiser and sponsor. Tiger is rising to a new and as yet not fully defined status in the world of American golf and I fear it may have taken a bit of bite out of his actual game.

Anyway, he’s not God for goodness sake, despite the crass fawning of sections of the American media: I couldn’t believe the obsequious TV interview after he had lost. Pass the sick bag.

Talking of God and all his works, chalk another one up for Jesus. Easter obviously exerts a huge power over golf, despite my belief that God hates it with a passion. Last year we had Aaron Baddeley praising the Lord after an on-course Easter ceremony sent him on his heavenly way to victory at the Verizon Heritage. This year, by divine providence, Johnson had a far greater stage on which to display the power of Jesus. Hallelujah. Maybe Jeev Milkha Singh will now understand precisely why he didn’t even stand a chance of winning.

I am surprised at the reaction to ‘unknown’ Johnson’s victory. Has everyone been asleep? He was very much a rising American star until fatherhood temporarily distracted him and fully deserved his win. Not only was his putter the hottest gun in town Sunday, but he had an uncanny knack all week of staying in touch with the leaders. Now, who wants to run by me all that stuff about Hooters, chicken wings, and all those beautiful girls? Must say, that does indeed sound pretty heavenly.

As for the course, thank goodness it lightened up enough to provide an absorbing final day. The folks at Augusta National can’t be faulted for the weather, and maybe they did have to ‘Tiger-proof’ the fairways. What I can’t stand is this obsession with greens so hard and fast they reduce putting to a form of crazy golf. It’s one reason I rarely enjoy the US Open - Shinnecock Hills anyone?

PS: It’s getting so’s you can’t sneeze at golf tournaments without some goody-two-shoes snitching to the authorities. Last year it was a journalist shopping Michelle Wie for an improper drop. At least he was on the course. Now we have a TV viewer reporting Phil Mickelson for using his golf bag to shield the sun from his tee shot. This trial by TV should be ignored or it’ll end in chaos. If it ain’t spotted on the course, leave it be.

Having said that, why wasn’t Lefty disqualified? Seemed bang to rights to me.

And while I’m on my pulpit, how come it’s an outrage when Sergio Garcia spits into a hole on a green, but no one turns a hair when Tiger spits gallons into a bunker? Most unedifying.