Jose Maria Olazabal - triumphant again. (Allsport)

Jose Maria Olazabal completed a fairytale comeback from a crippling foot injury by winning his second Masters title at Augusta.

The 33-year-old Spaniard, who three years ago was unable to walk and feared a future in a wheelchair, earned a cheque for £450,000 - but that was the last thing on his mind.

Amid emotional scenes, Olazabal, winner in 1994, scored a closing 71 to beat American Davis Love by two shots and 44-year-old Australian Greg Norman by three. He finished on the eight-under-par total of 280, one more than his score five years ago.

For Love, who holed an amazing chip at the 16th, it was a second runners-up finish, Ben Crenshaw having denied him victory in 1995.

And for Norman, who briefly led on his own when he eagled the 13th, it was yet another near-miss. He has now finished in the top five an incredible eight times in 19 visits to his favourite tournament.

But at 44, the "Great White Shark", who underwent shoulder surgery last spring and was out of golf for seven months himself, felt as moved as anyone by Olazabal's remarkable return to the summit of world golf.

Olazabal was told originally in 1995 that he was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. He spent 18 months out and for part of that had to crawl around his home. He watched the 1996 Masters - Norman's loss to Nick Faldo - from a living room sofa.

While he kept himself to himself, there were rumours that he had cancer and even AIDS, even that he had become grossly overweight. But eventually he returned thanks to German doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, who changed the diagnosis to a herniated disc in his lower back and started a rehabilitation course.

Olazabal came back at the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic, finished 12th and two tournaments later won in Gran Canaria.

There were tears then and more when he played in the Ryder Cup in his home country six months later. But he just about managed to hold them back as he became the fourth European, after Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and three-time champion Nick Faldo, to win two green jackets.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood's best chance yet to win a Major slipped away from him at Amen Corner's 11th and 12th holes and he eventually finished joint sixth, five shots back.

Joint leader with nine holes to play, the 25-year-old from Worksop dropped four strokes in the first three of those and left himself too much ground to make up.

There was also disappointment for Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam after their names had appeared on the giant leaderboards around the famous course.

Olazabal had led by one stroke after his second-day 66 and again after a third-round 73. But when he bogeyed the third, fourth and fifth he had to regroup - and did wonderfully well.

A birdie at the short sixth hole steadied the ship, the one at the 10th took him back in front and he answered Norman's eagle three holes later with an 18ft birdie putt to be joint leader. They smiled at each other at that moment, fully respecting what each other had achieved.

The Australian made crucial mistakes when he bogeyed the 14th and 15th, the latter after pitching into a bunker, and Love's chip at the 16th made him the main danger.

He was left of the green and his chip went 25 feet past the hole, up a slope and then started coming back down, curling all the way into the cup.

But Olazabal had an answer. He hit his tee-shot to less than four feet, and after Norman had missed from eight he holed for a two-stroke cushion.

The one moment of alarm after that came immediately when his drive off the 17th hit the huge Eisenhower tree. But he chased his second shot onto the green, made a superb four-foot second putt for par - on a rock-hard green Love described as "unplayable" - and made the safest of fours down the last.

"Three years ago I had serious doubts, not only about whether I would ever play golf again but about my quality of life," he said before being helped into the green jacket by last year's winner Mark O'Meara. "To be here at this moment is very emotional."

Norman said later: "This was a successful and sad week for me rolled into one. I feel I'm back to where I can contend but there's the sadness of not winning.

"But I don't think this is another heartbreak. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill on this one."

Westwood, whose outward 33 was seven shots better than playing partner Tiger Woods, hooked his ball wide of the green at the 10th and failed to get up and down, then paid a bigger price for wildly pushing his approach to the 11th.

He had to pitch over a bunker, but while he succeeded in that, the ball ran over the green and he was fortunate it did not roll into water.

Europe's 1998 Player of the Year left his chip back on the fringe and two-putted for a six at the 455-yard hole.

When he then found a back bunker at the notorious short 12th and could not salvage his three, he had nosedived from five under to one under.

He birdied the 13th and 15th but by parring the last three holes for a 71 and three-under aggregate - the same as David Duval - he needed others to falter badly to retain any chance.

"I enjoyed every minute. It was my first time in contention for a Major and there's no doubt in my mind I'll win one now," said Westwood.

"Standing on top of the hill at the 11th fairway my stomach was in knots. It makes you feel sick - the Ryder Cup wasn't as bad as that.

"But I got myself in a position to win and it was a great experience. After dropping those shots I was delighted with my finish - I could have gone for hundreds."

Montgomerie, four shots behind overnight, had a 74 for one under and joint 11th, while Woosnam, also out in 33 to be three under, came home in 39 to finish joint 14th at level par.

Montgomerie said: "I played well but you really must be fortunate here. It plays a huge role and my ball just didn't want to go in today."

Earlier, Sandy Lyle had four-putted the 17th for a triple-bogey seven in a round of 80 and described that and the 14th greens as "sadistic".

Woosnam concurred. "They're like concrete the whole way round and so fiery it's unbelievable," said the Welshman.

"I thought I had a chance at the turn but was a bit nervous with the putter."

And it was a day of double celebration for Spain thanks to 19-year-old Sergio Garcia.

Having become on Friday the first European amateur to make the halfway cut since Peter McEvoy in 1978, British champion Garcia's closing 73 in the blustery conditions made him top amateur.

Garcia, expected now to join the paid ranks for the Spanish Open in 11 days' time, was involved in a thrilling battle with Americans Matt Kuchar and Tom McKnight, the player who beat him in the semi-finals of the US Amateur Championship last year.

McKnight was one shot ahead of Kuchar and two in front of Garcia with 18 holes to go but shot a 77 to finish two behind the Spanish teenager while Kuchar had a 78 to be four behind.

Final collated totals (US unless stated):

(x) denotes amateurs

280 JM Olazabal (Spain) 70 66 73 71 (£450,000)

282 D Love 69 72 70 71 (£270,000)

283 G Norman (Aus) 71 68 71 73 (£170,000)

284 B Estes 71 72 69 72, S Pate 71 75 65 73

285 D Duval 71 74 70 70, P Mickelson 74 69 71 71, L Westwood (GB) 75 71 68 71, N Price (Zimb) 69 72 72 72, C Franco (Para) 72 72 68 73

287 B Langer (Ger) 76 66 72 73, S Elkington (Aus) 72 70 71 74, C Montgomerie (GB) 70 72 71 74

288 B Jobe 72 71 74 71, I Woosnam (GB) 71 74 71 72, J Furyk 72 73 70 73, L Janzen 70 69 73 76

289 B Chamblee 69 73 75 72, J Leonard 70 72 73 74, B Glasson 72 70 73 74, T Woods 72 72 70 75, S McCarron 69 68 76 76

290 L Mize 76 70 72 72

291 V Singh (Fiji) 72 76 71 72, P-U Johansson (Swe) 75 72 71 73, B Faxon 74 73 68 76

292 F Couples 74 71 76 71, R Mediate 73 74 69 76, S Cink 74 70 71 77, E Els (SA) 71 72 69 80

293 S Maruyama (Jap) 78 70 71 74, T Lehman 73 72 73 75, B Watts 73 73 70 77, J Sluman 70 75 70 78, M O'Meara 70 76 69 78

294 A Magee 70 77 72 75, J Huston 74 72 71 77

295 M Brooks 76 72 75 72, (x) S Garcia (Spain) 72 75 75 73, B Andrade 76 72 72 75, R Floyd 74 73 72 76, C Stadler 72 76 70 77, S Stricker 75 72 69 79

297 J Haas 74 69 79 75, (x) T McKnight 73 74 73 77, T Herron 75 69 74 79, S Hoch 75 73 70 79

298 C Parry (Aus) 75 73 73 77, S Lyle (GB) 71 77 70 80

299 (x) M Kuchar 77 71 73 78, C Perry 73 72 74 80

300 B Tway 75 73 78 74, P Stewart 73 75 77 75, O Browne 74 74 72 80, J Daly 72 76 71 81

305 (x) T Immelman (SA) 72 76 78 79