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If I told you that Tiger Woods had the lead in the final round of the Masters and lost would you believe me? What if I told you that after a very Tiger like eagle at the 13th to close within two shots, he proceeded to miss a makeable birdie putt on the next hole and put his approach shot in the water on 15? And after managing to get up and down for par he missed another birdie putt on 16? It’s true. On Sunday the player who is the definition of clutch, simply couldn’t pull off another remarkable win on the world stage.

Equally remarkable is that the player who was clutch with everything on the line was Zach Johnson. Who? Yes, you would have to be a pretty avid follower of the game to know much about Zach Johnson prior to Sunday. The thirty-one year old Iowan has only one previous tour win to his credit, the 2004 Bell South, and was playing in only his third Masters.

But when everything was on the line, he stepped up and played great golf. It all seemed to pick up when he chipped in from off the green on the par five eighth, but he really earned his win on the back nine. He birdied three out of four between 13 and 16 with beautiful approach shots and clutch putts and built himself a three shot lead. After a nervous bogey on 17, he steadied himself and executed a perfect chip shot for a tap in par. With Tiger unable to take advantage, and Justin Rose imploding with a double on 17, the two shot lead was enough for the victory.

After a week of miserable conditions and struggling golfers it was good to see someone play like they wanted to win rather than just survive. After a brutal third round in which the average score was over 77, Tiger Woods found himself in the final pairing and only one shot behind Australian Stuart Appleby. Pretty remarkable given that he had yet to break par.

But despite better weather and more accessible pins, it didn’t seem to be in the cards for some of the usual suspects Sunday morning. Reigning champion Phil Mickelson started the day with a triple bogey that ended his chances. Justin Rose managed a double on the first and another on the third but was still a factor until the penultimate hole. Jim Furyk opened with a bogey and never threatened.

Fifty-four hole leader Appleby promptly gave up his lead when he carded a double. Johnson and Woods both bogeyed the first hole. Thanks to the struggles of his playing partner, however, Tiger ended up tied for the lead and a birdie on the next hole gave him the lead outright. Sunday suddenly had the feeling of another Tiger win where the competition simply fades under the pressure while Woods finds a way to win.

It was not to be a typical day, however, as a variety players charged to the lead. The young South African Rory Sabbatini supercharged his already solid round with an amazing eagle putt on the eighth hole. But he gave a stroke back on the very next hole and he never quite got the magic back with two more bogeys on the back nine. A birdie on the final hole led to a tie for second with Woods and his fellow South African Retief Goosen.

Goosen had one of the more remarkable stories of the week. At the end of the second round Goosen was lucky to make the cut; doing so on the number. Saturday morning found the two-time US Open winner in dead last place, but he shot the only round under par on Saturday and ended the day in 8th place despite a bogey on the final hole. He continued his strong play on Sunday, shooting a 32 on the front nine. It seemed like the stoic Goosen had everything in control and would win another major on icy fast greens. But Goosen played the next nine holes one over and joined the group in second place.

The question on everyone’s mind as the afternoon progressed was whether Tiger had enough left to make a charge. Not surprisingly the answer was yes. The surprise was that it wasn’t enough.

After a wild tee shot on 11 Tiger had to bend a club around a tree just to have chance at saving par. And save it he did. After a clutch putt on the par three 12, Tiger seemed to have righted the ship. Just in time for a par five reachable in two.

Tiger being Tiger he provided some drama. His approach shot landed on the back of the green left of the hole and seemed to balance there for a second or two. As Tiger yelled “bite, bite” the ball finally began to roll down the bank toward the cup coming to rest inches away. He made the short putt for eagle and was suddenly only two shots behind. With the par five 15 and the par three 16 ahead, Tiger seemed to be poised for another remarkable win.

But Zach Johnson, one of the many Rider Cup rookies who got to know Tiger close up, apparently didn’t get the script for the Tiger comeback win. After playing the par five 15 safe but this time managing only a par, Johnson earned his victory with a couple of clutch shots. He knocked his tee shot to within twelve feet on 16 and drained the putt. After the hiccup on 17, he found the fairway on 18. A bit of luck kept his approach shot out of the bunker and Johnson executed a perfect chip shot to within inches for a tap in par. Tiger couldn’t find a birdie on the final five holes and Johnson had his second victory and his first Major.

It doesn’t matter that Johnson’s one over 289 tied for the highest final score in Masters’ history, when it mattered he played the best golf. He out-dueled Tiger Woods and won the famed green jacket. Six years ago Johnson was just a spectator at Augusta watching Tiger complete the Tiger Slam. Just four years ago he was playing on the Nationwide Tour.

It really is an amazing story. Johnson wasn’t even the best player on his high school golf team. He dreamed of playing golf for the University of Iowa where so many of his family members had attended, but he only received a scholarship offer from Drake University. But like so many young golfers he dreamed of one day winning the Masters and he never gave up.

On Easter Sunday his victory was a nice reminder that sometimes dreams do come true.