Charl Schwartzel said he felt no nerves Sunday, despite the fact that this was his first time in the thick of things in a major. (Getty Images) Storm before the calmSunday gave us the wackiest, craziest, topsy-turvy finish in Masters history, with so many players charging up the leaderboard that you thought there was a clearance sale on Green Jackets. Chaos reigned, says Mike McAllister, until the calmest player on the course claimed victory. By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The roars started whipping through the trees early, much earlier than we're used to seeing on a Sunday at Augusta National. The man in red was burning up the front nine, the boy leader was hanging on for dear life, and the eventual winner seemed to have no need for a putter. Then chaos ensued. Rory McIlroy, so steady in taking the 54-hole lead, imploded upon reaching the back nine. We felt bad for the 21-year-old, watching him suffer a cruel lesson about major championship golf. But what followed was the wackiest, craziest, topsy-turvy finish in Masters history, with so many players charging up the leaderboard that you thought there was a clearance sale on Green Jackets. At one point, just 90 minutes before the final putt would drop, there were five guys tied for the lead, and a handful of others still with legitimate aspirations. You couldn't blink for fear of another leaderboard change. "It was awesome," said Bo Van Pelt, one of those players who seemingly came out of nowhere to make a back-nine run. Actually, it was bedlam. And there's only one way to counterbalance such circumstances: Be the calmest person out there. Enter your new Masters champion. Charl Schwartzel woke up Sunday morning in a four-way tie for second, four shots off McIlroy's lead. It was his first time in serious contention at a major on Sunday. But whether it was because he was flying under the radar or because he's a 26-year-old farm boy from South Africa who keeps his life as simple as his golf swing thoughts, there were no nerves. "Obviously I've never been in sort of a situation like that in a major," Schwartzel said. "I felt surprisingly very calm." The day, of course, was anything but. Tiger Woods was even farther off the lead than Schwartzel, thanks to his third-round 74 that ultimately came back to cost him a fifth Green Jacket. But he did what we expect Tiger to do at Augusta National -- create magic. He used four birdies and an eagle to tour the front nine in 31, the familiar roars from his gallery causing players to step away from their shots. As he made the turn, having just rolled in a long par-saving putt at the ninth, he found himself tied for the lead, having made up seven shots. But he couldn't sustain the momentum. Or rather, he couldn't sustain his putting touch. Hampered all week by his inconsistencies on the green, Tiger failed to deliver the knockout blows on the back nine. He dropped a shot at 12th when he three-putted (his fifth three-putt this week). He made up the stroke with a birdie at the par-5 15th, but even that was a letdown after making a terrific second shot to set up an eagle chance inside 10 feet. He took 13 putts to whip through the front nine, one-putting six greens; he required 18 putts on the back side, one-putting just one green. Not good enough. "I should have shot an easy 3- or 4-under on the back nine," Woods bemoaned. Still, Woods' start had set the tone. So did Schwartzel, who chipped in for birdie on the first hole, then holed out from 114 yards at the third. So did McIlroy's struggles. He posted two bogeys in his first five holes (he had suffered just three in the first three days) and his four-shot lead had evaporated 67 minutes after he teed off. RELATED CONTENT --TOUR Report: Final round --Hauser: Australians makes Norman proud --Ross: Schwartzel puts Nicklaus' advice to good use McIlroy actually made the turn still with a one-shot lead, but then disaster struck. A wayward drive at 10 landed far to the left between two cabins, and the youngster simply unraveled after that. He followed with another poor shot, then another, then another, and by the time he finished the hole, he had triple-bogeyed and dropped two shots off the lead. He followed with a bogey, then a double bogey. Three holes, six shots dropped. The game of golf can be cruel, even for a precocious lad from Northern Ireland whose future will include many more chances at a Green Jacket. "It's very disappointing what happened today," McIlroy said. "Hopefully it'll build a little bit of character in me, as well." With McIlroy falling back and Tiger stagnating, endless opportunities presented themselves for the other contenders to make a back-nine move. Geoff Ogilvy reeled off five straight birdies to get to 10 under. Van Pelt eagled the two par 5s on the back nine to get his name in the mix. Angel Cabrera didn't appear to be going away. Neither did steady K.J. Choi (more on that later). Luke Donald's day seemed derailed when he found the water in Amen Corner, but he rallied back. "I don't think I've ever seen a Masters this close," Donald said. Adam Scott was playing beautifully and became the first player to reach 12 under, while fellow Aussie Jason Day -- McIlroy's playing partner the first three days -- kept firing at every pin. At one point, Ogilvy, Scott and Day had a share of the lead with Schwartzel and Cabrera. Every heart in Australia began pounding faster. A 60 percent share of the lead on the back nine? Surely this was the day one of their native sons wins at Augusta. "It's amazing what happens at this place," Scott said. Alas, not amazing enough for the Aussies, who ran out of holes. Still, something to build on. The Masters drought, you have to figure, will end soon for the guys Down Under. Meanwhile, there was Schwartzel, calm and collected. After he followed his early fireworks with a bogey, he settled into a stretch in which he produced 10 straight pars. He was playing with Choi, the stoic Korean, and it turned out to be the perfect partner. "He always looks calm," Schwartzel said. "You know, his golf swing never changes. He doesn't get all too excited on the course. And all of those sort of things helps when you're around a guy. You can feed off each other with those sort of things, and we both just sort of do our thing." With a playoff appearing close to reality, the South African then did his thing to win. He birdied from eight feet at the 15th. Birdied from 15 feet at the 16th. Birdied from 12 feet at the 17th. Then birdied from 14 feet at the 18th. He felt good standing over every single one of those putts. His confidence was high ... and his hands were relaxed. The pressure of the moment did not translate to his grip. That's a rare thing. That's a championship thing. Jack Nicklaus did the same thing 25 years ago when he went 4 under over the last four holes. That was the most memorable Masters in history. This was the wildest. "I'm proud of myself," he said of his calm putting, "because that comes from quite a lot of practicing that I was able to do that." Chaos reigned for most of Sunday at Augusta National. An incredible day, a wild day, a day that left us breathless. But the winner remained calm. And now we can all finally breathe again.