Finally,McIlroy's Dreams Turns to Despair

For every Masters champion and his Green Jacket and his story of triumph at Augusta National, there is often a tale like the one belonging to the 21-year-old McIlroy, who saw his chance to win his first major championship collide with trees, hide between cabins and drop into the creek.

McIlroy began the fourth round with a four-shot lead and was still clinging to a one-shot advantage when he arrived at the 10th tee, the 495-yard par-4. It was there that his trouble began. His drive sailed left, struck a tree and took a hard left turn, coming to rest between the Peek Cabin and the Berckmans Cabin.

He chopped out, across the fairway into the second cut. His next shot missed the green left and rolled beneath some trees. His fourth shot glanced off a tree. He chipped onto the green and then two-putted for a triple-bogey seven.

McIlroy's problems expanded after the 10th. He bogeyed the 11th, double-bogeyed the 12th with a three-putt and knocked his second shot into the water at the 13th and made bogey.

Then he buried his head in his arms, thus officially and unofficially signaling the end of his tournament.

As far as collapses go, McIlroy's was epic, mainly because it occurred in such a brief period of time, a seven-shot collapse in only four holes. At least Greg Norman needed an entire 18 holes to shoot 78 and see Nick Faldo come from six shots down on the last day to win the 1996 Masters.

What happened to McIlroy on Sunday didn't seem fair, but then again, golf doesn't really choose sides. And with the stakes so high and the pressure so great at the Masters, what happened to McIlroy may simply be explained away as the rub of the green.

Phil Mickelson, who has experienced the thrill of a Masters victory three times, played 42 majors as a professional before winning his first major, the 2004 Masters. He was sympathetic to McIlroy.

"It's very hard to sleep on the lead," Mickelson said. "It's hard to come out and play aggressively when guys are chasing after you and you've got the lead. We have seen guys do it over and over in history, throughout history at this tournament, guys want this thing so bad that sometimes it's hard to perform at the highest level."

Earlier Sunday, long before McIlroy began play, his agent explained one of the reasons why McIlroy is special.