Few arenas in sport produce drama like the back nine at Augusta National Golf Club.

The roars of triumph and failure rolled across the hills of the former nursery Sunday, the sounds as telling as the sight of changing numbers on the scoreboard.

A sudden outburst from the north signaled Trevor Immelman's hole-in-one at No. 16, the lone ace of the tournament.

In the very next pairing, the reverberating moans built on the same hole with each missed Phil Mickelson putt.

A scream that seemed to come from everywhere marked Tiger Woods' miraculous chip-in at No. 16 and his winning putt at No. 18 on the first playoff hole.

Luke Donald summed up the best strategy.

"Never give up," he said.

The course giveth, and the course taketh away at Augusta National - sometimes both in the same day.

Woods, the winner, birdied Nos. 15 and 16 only to bogey Nos. 17 and 18.

Donald had a double bogey, two birdies and two eagles in his final nine holes.

"Those par-5s on the back, you can make eagles and bogeys too," Donald said.

The back nine made and broke others as well.

Retief Goosen posted four birdies in his final nine holes to finish tied for third.

Mike Weir went birdie, bogey, bogey, bogey on his final four holes to miss out on a top-three finish.

Phil Mickelson double-bogeyed both par-3s, four-putting at No. 16.

The defending champion said the back nine is tough whether you're in contention or not.

"It's not nearly as fun to not have a shot at it on the back," he said.

But it's much less nerve-wracking. Woods experienced the highs and lows in successive shots. He holed a curling 30-foot chip at No. 16 only to shank his tee shot at No. 17.

"It was one of my more creative shots," Woods said of the chip, "and it was also luck. Then I hit just a block on No. 17."

Such is the back nine on Sunday, where one simply listens for the roars.