AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The finishing touch of a most amazing Masters was Charl Schwartzel slipping into a green jacket. Until that moment late Sunday afternoon, everything else at Augusta National was up for grabs.

The roars came from everywhere, for everyone, and never stopped.

Tiger Woods made up a seven-shot deficit in nine holes -- too bad it was the front nine. Geoff Ogilvy ran off five straight birdies. Rory McIlroy matched the greatest collapse in Masters history with a stretch of holes not even Greg Norman would want to watch.

It was so wild that eight players had at least a share of the lead on the back nine.

Schwartzel emerged from all this madness with a magical touch of his own. He became the first Masters champion in its 75-year history to finish with four straight birdies, giving him a 6-under 66 for the best final round by a winner in 22 years.

The green jacket ceremony wasn't so much a celebration as a chance for everyone to catch their breath.

"There's so many roars that go on around Augusta," Schwartzel said. "Especially the back nine. It echoes through those trees. There's always a roar. Every single hole you walk down, someone has done something. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking at the leaderboard."

At times, it was nearly impossible to keep up.

There was a five-way lead at the top at one point, and only the final hour sorted it all out.

Schwartzel didn't have the lead to himself until he knocked in a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, then put just the right touch on a memorable Sunday with one final birdie putt that only counted toward the final margin.

Charl Schwartzel shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Masters. Harry How/Getty Images

He won by two shots over Adam Scott and Jason Day, a pair of Australians who didn't drop a single shot on the back nine.

"Just an exciting day," Schwartzel said. "So many roars, and that atmosphere out there was just incredible. A phenomenal day."

Indeed, this final round had it all.

There was the fist-pumping charge by Tiger Woods that was slowed by two putts he missed from inside 4 feet. There was Luke Donald, dumping his tee shot into the pond at No. 12 only to make four birdies over the last six holes, chipping in on the last one.

And then there was McIlroy, whose 80 in the final round might be remembered as much for the classy way he handled it all.

Still leading by one shot as he headed to the back nine, McIlroy hit a tee shot next to the cabins left of the 10th fairway and twice hit a tree to make triple bogey. He three-putted from 7 feet for bogey on the 11th, four-putted from about 12 feet on the next hole and buried his head into his forearm as the shock began to settle in.

McIlroy had the highest final round by a 54-hole leader since Ken Venturi in 1956. Not since Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie had someone lost at least a four-shot lead going into the last round of the major.

"It's never nice to be leading a tournament and do what I did today," McIlroy said.

On the course he looked as though he wanted to hide. After the round, he looked everyone in the eye and answered every question.

McIlroy also posted a message to his Twitter feed to say: "Well that wasn't the plan! Found it tough going, but you have to lose before you can win. This day will make me stronger."

The steady hand came from Schwartzel, whose only bogey came on the fourth hole as this Masters was just getting warmed up. He made par on 10 consecutive holes when he began his great run.