MASTERS NOTEBOOK From Augusta National

Woods' woes: For the second straight year, the world's best player was barely a factor. Tiger Woods' final-round 71 on Sunday left him 8-over for the tournament and in 22nd place, four spots lower than his previous worst finish in eight appearances. He's now winless in seven straight majors. To add injury to insult, Woods battled a stomach flu after eating something at the course that disagreed with him. He started feeling bad on the first tee. By the time he reached the green, Woods knew he was in for a long afternoon. "I was feeling cold, hot, hot, cold. I'd put on a sweater and next thing I know, I was hot," Woods said. "I'm glad to get it out of my system." He'd love to be able to say the same about his inconsistent play. Woods insists his game is rounding into form, but he's having a hard time convincing anybody else. He has finished over par in his last five majors. Next for Woods: a trip to Fort Bragg, N.C., where he'll spend four days of training, then conduct a junior golf clinic for families at the base. Woods' father, Earl, trained at Fort Bragg in 1963 following a tour in Vietnam. He was assigned to a Special Forces unit there before leaving for another tour in 1970. "Fort Bragg will probably be more physically difficult, but this is more of a mental test here," Woods said. "Physically, anybody can walk this golf course and play well here." But, he said, "it's the mental grind" of the golf course that is most challenging.
Long-distance: Describing K.J. Choi's 5-iron into the 11th green as "eagle-eyed" isn't much of an exaggeration. From 220 yards away, his second shot landed on the putting surface, bounced several times and then had no trouble finding the bottom of the cup. "If it didn't hit the hole, it's in the water," which extends to the back of the green, Choi said. On some Sundays at the Masters, that kind of shot might have been enough to win a green jacket. This time, it wound up as a footnote. Choi became just the third player in Masters history to make eagle on the 11th hole, but wound up in third place. The South Korean also tied a front-nine record with a 30 on Friday, but as well as he played, it wasn't good enough to join the Phil Mickelson-Ernie Els drama that was settled on the final hole.
Amateur hour: Nobody can say they had a better finish than amateur Casey Wittenberg. The 19-year-old made three birdies and an eagle over the last six holes, shooting 31 on the back Sunday to finish 13th. More importantly, he earned a trip to Augusta National next year. "It's kind of indescribable, the way I feel," he said. Wittenberg finished at even-par 288, the best score by an amateur since Charlie Coe, who also shot 288 in 1962. He became the first amateur to win a return trip back since Matt Kuchar in 1998. When Kuchar did it, the top 24 finishers qualified and he finished 21st. Now, it's the top 16.
Pair of aces: Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett managed to do in 10 minutes what only seven other golfers accomplished in the 67 previous years at the Masters. Playing in back-to-back groups, Harrington and Triplett each aced the 16th hole Sunday afternoon. They were the eighth and ninth aces on the 170-yard hole, and the first since Raymond Floyd's in 1996. Harrington's tee shot trickled down from 30 feet, picking up speed before dropping in on the right side of the pin. Harrington's mouth dropped, and he exchanged high-fives with his caddie and playing partner Stewart Cink. The gallery had barely caught its breath when Triplett stepped up. His tee shot landed in almost the same spot as Harrington's, and it, too, trickled into the hole. Triplett fell to the ground on his back, lying there spread-eagle before playing partner Fredrik Jacobson helped him up. "Just laying on the hallowed ground -- I couldn't believe it," Triplett said.
Divots: First- and second-round leader Justin Rose rebounded with a 71 to finish at 2 over. He fell out of contention Saturday with an 81. ... Chris Riley had the biggest fall of the 44 players who made the cut. He opened with a 2-under par, three strokes behind Rose, but then shot three straight 6-over 78s to finish at 16-over 304.
-- Associated Press