Ernie Els and Vijay Singh have done it more than anyone, which has to be frustrating for players of their caliber.

They made sure it didn't happen again Sunday at the Masters, transforming Augusta National into the local municipal course.

Retief Goosen will go down in the record books as the runner-up at the 2002 Masters, and indeed he was tied for the lead with Woods going to the final round. But the South African's hopes faded quickly -- he lost three strokes on the first three holes -- and everyone knows the Masters doesn't start until Sunday's back nine.

For Els and Singh, that's where it ended.

The weekend hacker is quite familiar with these shots -- the drive into the trees, the wedge into the water. But guys who have won major titles aren't supposed play this way.

It was unexplainable, almost painful to watch.

There was Singh, the 2000 Masters winner and also owner of a PGA Championship, taking a quadruple-bogey 9 at No. 15 -- which played as the easiest hole on the course -- after knocking two shots into the water.

There was Els, twice a U.S. Open champion, yanking his tee shot at No. 13 into the trees, then plopping the next two shots into Rae's Creek. He signed for a triple-bogey 8 and might as well have headed to the clubhouse.

Woods simply had to keep his ball in play, shooting a final- round 71 that put him at 12-under 276 for an easy three-stroke victory.

``If I played my normal game, I'd have been 11 under,'' said Els, who instead shot 73 to tie for fifth at 6 under.

``I'll come back and try again next year,'' Singh said with a sigh, having plummeted to seventh with a 76 that pushed his score to 5 under.

Els has finished second to Woods in seven tournaments around the world, more than any other golfer. He was in that position again after making birdies on three of the first eight holes, getting to 10 under.

Things began to fall apart at No. 9. Els' second shot landed about a foot short of where it needed to be, rolling back off the front of the severely sloped green.

The Big Easy showed a rare bit of frustration, raring back his club with one hand as if he wanted to pound the ground.

Second only to Els when it to comes to finishing second is Singh, three times a runner-up when Woods has won.

He started to crumble at No. 11, missing a short putt to save par. He flipped his ball into the pond on the way to the next tee, not knowing he would come close to running out four holes later.

Singh also went in the creek at No. 13, but salvaged a par. He was still within three strokes of Woods heading to No. 15, an eagle opportunity that could have made things interesting.

Unfortunately for Singh, a poor drive forced him to lay up in front of the water. He knew he had to knock his sand wedge close to the hole for a birdie try, but didn't have much room for error with the flag practically hugging the water in a front right position.

The first swing landed a little short, the ball trickling back into the water. Try again.

After dropping, Singh delivered an instant replay. Another ball in the water. Game over.

``I hit two or three bad shots with the sand wedge,'' Singh said, ``and that was that.''

Els was kicking himself for the drive at 13, where he thought a 3-wood would give him better control.

``Man, I should have just hit driver anyway,'' he moaned. ``Maybe, at worse, I make a 5 and would have still been around. But I made a bad swing, no excuses.''

Els has run into trouble before at the 13th.

``It was a crazy error,'' he said. ``I told myself before this week, 'Don't go left like in previous years.' I guess I didn't listen to myself.''

Goosen proved he was championship material by winning the U.S. Open last summer at Southern Hills. He beat Mark Brooks in a playoff after one of golf's greatest gaffes -- missing an 18-inch putt for victory on the 72nd hole.

Goosen didn't get a chance to make too many from that distance on Sunday. His iron play was horrendous, pushing his score for the round as high as 4 over before he made a couple of late birdies to slip into second with a closing 74.

``Do I get a pair of green pants for finishing second?'' Goosen quipped.

His performance on this day was no laughing matter.

``I hit my irons terrible,'' Goosen said. ``I was always putting from 40 feet.''