The 2009 Masters nearly delivered what golf fans have been hopelessly anticipating for years now: a showdown between Tiger and Phil for a green jacket.

While both golfers started the day seven shots back of 54-hole-leader Kenny Perry, a ridiculous run of birdies and eagles by Woods and Mickelson (who shot a Masters course record 30 on the front nine) left both golfers at 10-under par and only one shot off the lead heading into the par-3 twelfth hole. Sadly, that's where the day took a turn for the worse, with Mickelson putting his tee-shot in the water.

There were some other blunders and missed putts to follow, and just like that what could have been a round for the ages ended up with a fairly boring three-way playoff between Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry, and the ultimate victor Angel Cabrera. It's not fair to say Tiger and Phil choked considering they put on such an amazing charge and actually scared the leaders, but I'll always remember this year at the Masters as the big tease. I'm sure in hindsight knowing that 12-under would have gotten them into a playoff, both golfers were kicking themselves for giving away those shots over the final holes.

Even if it was a disappointment, this is a great sign for the remaining season on the PGA Tour. Tiger wasn't really on his game most of the week and Phil barely made the cut before a back nine turnaround on Friday, and yet both were able to put themselves into contention.

On a final note, serious kudos should be given to the folks at Augusta for how the course was setup on Sunday. There were some great pin placements that offered a lot of reward for going at the flag, unlike recent years where birdies and eagles were seldom seen in the final round.