It was a day when a Florida Gator played like a bulldog in Georgia, only to be barely one-upped by a Tiger catching a King and gaining on a Bear.

It was a day when the greatest golfer in the world today threw a knockout punch - not once, but twice - and still needed overtime to finish off a relative upstart.

It was a day when a young man with only three PGA Tour victories proved he was more than just a major champion escort.

It was a day when the new boss - same as the old boss - stood in front of the world weeping and yearning for a hug from his father.

It was a day that defined a new era for two men.

It was simply another unforgettable day at the Masters Tournament.

"This is for Dad," said Tiger Woods, openly weeping for his ailing pop on the practice putting green as he accepted his fourth green jacket, tying him with Arnold Palmer. "Every year he's been here to give me a hug. He wasn't here today. I can't wait to get home to see him and give him a big bear hug."

This was a side of Tiger we'd never seen before, the side with his shields down. This was a more human Woods - the kind of player whose best stuff couldn't even intimidate Chris DiMarco into submission. This was a No. 1 golfer who needed to dig deeper to win his ninth major championship than he's had to dig since dueling Bob May at the PGA Championship in 2000.

As Woods cried, DiMarco did not shed a tear. It would have been understandable if he had. A year ago he escorted Phil Mickelson through the final round of his first major triumph here. In August, he lost in a three-way playoff to Vijay Singh at the PGA Championship.

Now here he was watching someone else celebrate again at his expense. Yet DiMarco felt good about himself, asking only for a "big beer" to satisfy his thirst and not drown his sorrows.

"This was a big step for me," he said in the locker room with his three children playing all around him. "I really felt, for lack of a better word, that I showed a lot of balls out there today. I challenged the best player in the world on the best golf course we play. I'm disappointed I didn't win, but this tournament has made me a better player."

If you dissect this day objectively, what DiMarco did was every bit as impressive as what Woods accomplished.

By all rights, this Masters should have been over at 8:31 a.m. That's when Woods delivered an overhanded punch that would have knocked out most contenders.

While most people were sleeping, showering, eating grits or getting dressed for church, the Masters appeared to come to a premature conclusion. So premature that the pronouncement of the end to Woods' 10-major drought could have been delivered by CBS News Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood.

It took Woods 22 minutes to erase a four-stroke deficit on DiMarco. Thirty-one minutes to seize solo possession of the lead. All of it transpired in seven simple strokes at the resumption of the rain-delayed third round.

How could DiMarco possibly recover from this? C'mon! Woods birdied seven holes in a row, 16 out of 30 at one stretch. By the time the third round was over, he was three clear of DiMarco and already one sleeve into a new coat.

"Chris is a guy who never gives up," 2004 champion Phil Mickelson said.

By the fourth round, it was merely match play, and DiMarco was facing the longest odds. After all, Woods never yields 54-hole leads. Not in majors. Not ever. He was 8-0 coming in and a presumed lock.

DiMarco trailed by four at one point - and simply outplayed Woods the rest of the way. Consistently outdriven by distances that inspire doubt, DiMarco kept chipping away. Nine hours after he lost that lead he held for 45 holes, DiMarco was right back where he was in the morning - one back in the middle of Amen Corner.

"He's a fighter," Woods said of DiMarco. "What else can you say? ... He's going to be in your face all day."

DiMarco stubbornly hung in and was poised to draw even on the par-3 16th. That's when Woods delivered the presumed death knell - a 40-foot chip that covered an arc of about 60 feet and teetered on the lip before toppling into the cup. It nearly brought Tiger to his knees and then lifted him off his feet.

It was quite simply one of the greatest shots in Masters history - right up there with Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935 and Larry Mize's chip-in in 1987.

"All of the sudden it looked pretty good, and all of the sudden it looked really good and it looked like it could go in and how did it not go in, and all of the sudden it went in," Woods said. "So it was pretty sweet."

But the two-stroke cushion it gave Woods was not enough. He gave it back with bogeys at 17 and 18 coming in, and a playoff was only necessary because DiMarco's chip on No. 18 didn't fall in when it hit the cup.

Being tested to his limits - battling back from a bizarre first-round 74 and fighting off a bulldog - left Woods exhilarated.

"Without a doubt, this was a thrill," Woods said.

DiMarco agreed, comparing it to the Ryder Cup and chastising his caddie for not getting into the moment.

"If you're not having fun doing this, something is wrong with you," he said. "That was about as much fun as I've had in a day."

It was a day that redefined two winners, in a sense. Woods remains the target, only more human. DiMarco remains a chaser, only more respected.

One man cried for his father's poor health. The other man's father was overwhelmed with pride for his son.

"To see your son playing on that stage with the best player in the world, I'm overwhelmed," said Rich DiMarco, holding his 14-month-old granddaughter Abigale. "As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the best players in the world."

Somewhere in Augusta, Earl Woods is hanging in there and feeling the same way about Tiger.

It was that kind of staggering day at the Masters.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.