AUGUSTA, Ga. — Trevor Immelman not only comfortably defeated Tiger Woods on Sunday at the 72nd Masters but attained a feat Woods hasn’t at the prestigious event.

The 28-year-old South African led wire-to-wire in posting an 8-under par 280, becoming the first to lead or share the lead after all four rounds since Seve Ballesteros in 1980. Not even a closing 3-over 75 in swirling winds, the highest final round for a Masters champ since Arnold Palmer had the same score in 1962, could diminish what Immelman accomplished in his dominating run.

Immelman led by as many as six strokes Sunday before his tee shot on No. 16 went into the water, but his three-stroke margin is still the largest since Woods won the third of his four green jackets in 2002.

“I’m playing in the Tiger Woods era, and the guy boggles my mind,” Immelman said. “To win a major while he’s playing at his peak, and he’s told us he’s playing at his peak, is a heck of an achievement. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it done again, but I’ll be trying my best.”

Immelman, who failed to make the cut at last week’s Shell Houston Open, is only the second South African to win the Masters and the first since Gary Player in 1978. He has idolized Player since meeting him as a 5-year-old and received a voice mail from the three-time champ Saturday night that offered advice on keeping a steady head while putting and offered encouragement.

Woods finished three shots back at 5-under, marking his fifth runner-up finish in a major and his second straight at Augusta National. He never got to 6-under during the final round, and his even-par 72 ended with a birdie at No. 18, which included a dismissive “Oh, now you go in” wave.

“I didn’t put well all week,” Woods said. “I kept dragging the blade. I wasn’t releasing it. I wasn’t getting the overspin like I normally do. Out here, if you’re not starting the ball perfectly on line, you’re not going to make any putts.”

The winds wreaked havoc throughout Sunday afternoon — gusting as high as 29 mph — as nobody in the last 11 pairings shot under par.

Brandt Snedeker, Steve Flesch and Paul Casey each began the day within four shots of Immelman but went rapidly in reverse. Casey shot a 79 and fell out of the top 10 completely, while Flesch finished with a 78 and Snedeker a 77.

Flesch was 8-under through 11 holes and two strokes out of the lead before finding the water on No. 12. He double-bogeyed that hole and suffered four consecutive bogeys before parring No. 18 to finish 2-under and six shots back.

“The wind just got really tricky on the back nine,” Flesch said. “We pulled the wrong club on the 12th hole, and it went straight into the water. Then I was just kind of trying to be aggressive and got a little too aggressive on a couple of shots and made a couple more bogeys. It’s a little disheartening and very disappointing, but that’s all right.

“It’s still my best finish in a major, and hopefully, if I get in the situation again, it will turn out differently.”

Snedeker, who was bidding to become the first Tennessean to win the Masters, eagled No. 2 to pull into a tie with Immelman at 10-under but then bogeyed No. 3 and never recovered. He went out in 39 and was out of contention by the time he bogeyed No. 13 and No. 14.

An emotional Snedeker had a difficult time discussing the round that left him 4-under and tied for third with Stewart Cink. He left his interview session in tears.

“I about put myself in a psychiatric ward out there today,” he said. “I went from extreme highs to extreme lows, and that’s what you don’t want to do around here. You try to level yourself out. I never really got too down on myself, but there’s just a lot of emotion, you know?”

Immelman blinked briefly with the double at No. 16 and when he went into a bunker in front of the 17th green, but the world’s No. 29 player got up-and-down for par and was just moments away from celebrating with his wife and son. He is the youngest player since Woods in 2002 to win the Masters and the first international player to win it since Canadian Mike Weir in 2003.

Just four months ago, Immelman was about to undergo surgery to have a benign tumor lodged between his 11th rib and diaphragm removed.

“This has probably been the ultimate roller-coaster ride, and I hate roller-coasters,” he said. “I felt like I had to just basically start from zero again, so I started chipping away at a few things. I was missing cuts but was trying to stay positive, because I knew I was improving week after week.

“Here I am after missing the cut last week — Masters champion. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

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