It was a Masters full of surprises and excitement. The incredible Sunday rush up the leaderboard by two of the game's current stars, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, only to result in an anticlimactic finish as the dynamic duo ran out of gas.

Both missed make-able eagles at 15 and Lefty added a missed gimme at 17. And both concluded with bogies at 18 (at 17 as well as for Woods) to put an end to an electric rush that truly had the Masters crowd buzzing.

Then it appeared that Kenny Perry, the good-natured, resurrected, 48-year-old was poised to finally earn his first major. Two up with two holes to play, even one par over the final two holes would have made him the oldest Masters winner ever.

In between there was the steady, unheralded play of Chad Campbell, and the erratic, almost incomprehensible unsteadiness of Angel Caberera. Somehow the Argentinean managed to hang around, despite what appeared to be an out and out shank on the par five eighth and a completely duffed chip shot a hole or two earlier.

By the time that it was over, the record will show that Perry could not close the deal. Campbell, though steady, would fail on the first playoff hole. And somehow, well Cabrera was the last man standing.

Of course, for those who do not follow the game religiously, Cabrera was not as unlikely a winner as the others not-named Tiger or Phil. The Argentinean had already claimed his first major a couple of years before, a clear indication that he had the nerve and the wherewithal to hang tough when the pressure was greatest.

But while most of the focus was rightfully on the final day and the amazing finish, the Masters most memorable moments likely took place in rounds one and two. That was when the incredible Gary Player toured Augusta for the 52nd and final year.

After 164 rounds and 2,952 holes at Augusta National, Player ended his long career with a tearful goodbye that represented everything that was good about the world of sports. The ovations were prolonged, with one even coming from his playing partner, Steven Ames.

An amazing 73-years-young, Player still demonstrated the fitness of one half his age. But he insisted that this had to be his last go round: after all he could no longer hit the ball far enough to theoretically play the 7,000 plus yards that represented one of golf's most famous tests.

But let the record show, Player went 78-83 over his two rounds. That's correct; he shot a 78 from the professional tees at the Masters at the age of 73.

From someone who is thrilled to break 80 once or twice a year from the club tees, it is unimaginable to think what Player accomplished at age 73. But it wasn't his overall play that was most talked about.

"I'll remember it forever," Player reportedly said of his final two rounds in regards to the constant recognition from the crowd. "It went on and on from all sides and at every hole, all 36. I wish I had the vocabulary of Winston Churchill to say the correct thing. It was a feast. You'll go to your grave knowing you had tremendous love showered on yourself."

"I was getting tears myself coming down the end there," added Ames. "Here I am playing with a legend and he's retiring. It's a big deal. He falls into the category of (Jack) Nicklaus and (Arnold) Palmer. He's one of those guys, right back to (Ben) Hogan and Byron Nelson. It was fortunate for me that I got the opportunity."

The three time winner at Augusta and owner of nine majors, Player will also be remembered for a couple of other great lines.

"I've managed to break 80 the last two years" but "I'm hitting the ball so short now I can hear it land.

And as for the greens, well "the hole is getting the size of a Bayer aspirin. You wonder if you can squeeze it in there."

It was indeed a special Masters, one that everyone will long remember.