The green jacket, for a golfer, is the ultimate status symbol. It signals a man's arrival into an elite club of champions; and, as history has shown us, only those who demonstrate fortitude of mind and body get to savour the moment of glory.

Yesterday was Trevor Immelman's time, almost as if fate decreed that he had suffered enough. Redemption was his. In shooting an at times nervy final round of 75 for an eight-under-par total of 280, Immelman - who last year suffered a weight loss of some 20lb due to a parasitic infection in his stomach and, then, over the winter, underwent surgery on a tumour to his diaphragm that left him with a seven inch scar on his back - won the 72nd edition of the US Masters by three shots from Tiger Woods, who finished second on his own after a closing round of 72.

Although played under clear blue skies, a stiff wind - gusting up to 30 miles per hour - whistled through the towering cathedral pines and left the course asking tough questions of those in pursuit of the great prize. While Immelman stayed calm and doggedly stuck to his gameplan, those in pursuit frittered away shots on the back nine to make the South African's march to a first major victory a relatively straightforward one.

Immelman's only blip on his march to the title came with a double bogey five on the 16th, where - holding a five-shot lead at the time - he pulled his tee-shot into the pond. It was a flirt with potential disaster, but he recovered sufficiently to get home and become only the second South African, after Gary Player, to win the Masters.

Player, indeed, was among those in the gallery (outside the ropes) as Immelman negotiated the final steps in his wire-to-wire victory. Immelman awoke yesterday morning to a voicemail left by Player. It said: "take your time and keep your eyes on the ball for an extra second . . . there will be bad breaks, and I know you are going to win."

So it proved to be, as Immelman - a player with a DVD of every major championship played since 1984 in his library - fulfilled his boyhood dream and, now, will get to add the most cherished video of them all to his collection.

Early on, Immelman's main challenger was his playing partner Brandt Snedeker. But Snedeker endured a horrid final round, shooting a 77 to finish tied-third with Stewart Cink, while Immelman - who led the stats for fairways hit and also for greens in regulation - stayed focused to take the title.

While enduring that scary moment on the 16th when his shot found a watery grave, Immelman had to show his nerve in getting up and down from a greenside bunker on the 17th and, then, made a safe par - despite his tee shot finishing in a divot - on the 18th.

Woods went into the final round attempting to change history. The world's number one, with 13 majors to his name, had never managed to win from behind going into the final round of a major. In each of those wins, he had either held or shared the lead going into the last day. Yet again, in the role of chaser, he was to come up short and his dream of winning the Grand Slam - for 2008 at least - has been put in abeyance for another year at least.

"I figured if I played the last seven holes probably three under par, I might be in it," said Woods, "but I just couldn't. I just didn't make any putts all week. I hit the ball well enough to contend, and I hit the ball definitely well enough to put pressure on Trevor . . . . but I just didn't make any putts."

Pádraig Harrington showed fortitude of his own, finishing with a 72 for 286, two-under, that left him alongside Phil Mickelson and Steve Flesch in tied-fifth, equalling his best-ever finish in the Masters.

The Dubliner played the front nine as well as anyone, reaching the turn in 35 - with birdies at the second and third, dropping a shot at the ninth when, short with his approach, his third shot spun back off the green and down the hill to his feet - before dropping further shots on the 11th and the 14th. But he birdied the 15th, where he reached the green in two on the par five, and then produced superb sand saves for pars on the 16th and 17th.

Harrington, who finished as the top European, claimed he had left behind "at least five" chances in mid-round. "I didn't play a good chip at eight, nine or 11 and I hit a poor sand wedge at 14 so that's four shots there I gave away and you can't do that," he said.

He added: "I am not satisfied with a high finish. It won't go down on my CV. It's nice (to finish fifth) but we are all about getting out there and winning. There were some mistakes, but I feel my preparation was good. I set out my stall to build up for the Masters and I've set out my stall that nothing else matters but the US Open for the next couple of months. I feel like I am walking away saying that there is nothing in my golf game that needs to be tackled."

Apart from Harrington, two other Europeans managed to claim top-10 finishes. Miguel Angel Jimenez had a best-of-the-day 68 to finish on 287, one-under, alongside Sweden's Robert Karlsson.