AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Before he had to consider himself a major champion, Trevor Immelman always considered himself an avid sports fans who studied the tendencies and characteristics of athletes. And what he saw when he looked at Tiger Woods boggled his mind.

Maybe that's why Immelman, 28, was satisfied with himself as he sat during the green jacket ceremony Sunday night on the clubhouse lawn of the Augusta National Golf Club.

He had not only won the 72nd Masters, his first major championship, he had outlasted Woods, who finished second for the second year in a row in his quest for a fifth green jacket.

"I don't think it's ever easy to win a major in any era," Immelman said. "But, you know, I'm playing in Tiger Woods' era.

"To win a major while he's playing, and he's playing at his peak -- he told us that he's playing at peak -- it's a heck of an achievement. I'm not sure I'll ever get it done again, but I'll be trying my best."

Immelman's final-round 75, which tied Arnold Palmer (1962) for the highest final-day score by a Masters champion, may not have been a work of beauty. But it was sturdy enough to hold off Woods, even though Immelman injected a little more drama into the finish when he watered his tee shot at the 16th hole.

Woods shot par-72 to finish alone in second at 5-under 283, three shots behind Immelman. But he never really made a move after he made a 75-foot birdie putt at No. 11, blaming a sloppy putter for a short missed birdie putt at No. 13 and a missed par putt at No. 14.

And, yet, despite a performance that was in stark contrast to the sterling ball-striking display he produced in the third round Saturday, when he shot 68, Woods was still there at the end.

"You know, the guy boggles my mind," Immelman said. "I'm an avid sports watcher, I'm an avid sports fan and I study top sportsmen. And this guy is frightening in what he gets done and how he gets it done and the ease in which he gets it done.

"To win 13 majors at the age of 31 or 32 or whatever he is, is just frightening. It's just crazy to think how many he's going to get to."

Woods has 13 major titles, and his next chance to add to the total will be the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., a site where he has won the Buick Open the past four years. But, in his past five majors, he has finished second three times and won another (2007 PGA), one of the reasons he said earlier this year that the possibility of winning the Grand Slam in a calendar year was "easily within reach."

But, after losing to Immelman, Woods will not have a chance to accomplish that feat this year.

When he was reminded of his proclamation Sunday night, Woods said, "I learned my lesson there with the press. I'm not going to say anything."

Then he added, "It's just one of those things when you're out there playing, you couldn't care less [about the Grand Slam]. You're trying to win a golf tournament. You're trying to put yourself in position, which I did. I just didn't make the putts I needed to make the entire week. I had the speed right. I just didn't get the line right."

Woods' inability to make putts was a problem he encountered in the third round, too, even though he shot the low round of the day. Woods said he hit the ball so well, and putted so poorly, that his 4-under 68 was "the highest score I could shoot."

Curiously, the opposite was true for Immelman, who came to Augusta National ranked No. 202 among 204 PGA Tour players in putts per greens in regulation. But, on what may be the scariest putting surfaces in the world, Immelman three-putted only twice and ranked fourth in putting at Augusta National.

A frightening thought entered his mind when he was standing over a 15-foot birdie putt at the final hole, knowing he had a three-shot cushion to win his first major.

"I was trying to figure out how I was going to four-putt to win the tournament because I didn't think I could do it," Immelman said. "But luckily I only needed two."