PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There was no chance Stephen Ames could have played like this eight months ago.

His wife had been diagnosed with cancer, then had half a lung removed after the British Open.

"It's hard to focus and play golf. It's next to impossible," he said. "When I was playing the British Open last year, I'm standing over every shot going, 'What am I doing with this golf ball?' I was in a distant zone."

With his wife recovering well, Ames found the perfect zone at THE PLAYERS Championship.

He shot a 5-under 67 Sunday -- the best score during a demanding final round -- and beat two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen by six shots.

Ames finished at 14-under 274, earned $1.44 million from the richest purse on the PGA TOUR and received an unlikely invitation to the Masters in two weeks. And yes, he's going.

"It was something I had to talk to my family about before I made that decision," Ames said Monday morning on The Fan 590, an all-sports radio station in Canada. "It was something we had to collaborate, both with the kids and my wife. We are going to go."

Ames' son, ages 9 and 6, are on spring break the next two weeks and the family had planned a vacation in his native Trinidad. He sounded Sunday night as though the Masters could wait, saying that his priorities have always started with his family.

"I'd rather go on vacation, to be truthful," he said.

Now, he might be considered a candidate for a green jacket, especially how he manhandled the second-toughest Sunday at Sawgrass.

The only blip was a double bogey on the 10th hole, when mud on his ball caused his approach to plug into a bunker, and it took him two shots to get out. His lead was cut in half to two strokes, setting up what could have been a dramatic finish at TPC Sawgrass.

But Ames ran away from the field. He hit a 3-iron into 15 feet on the par-5 11th to set up a two-putt birdie. Then came an 8-iron on the par-3 13th that caught the ridge and rolled to 2 feet for birdie. He took only 12 putts on the back nine, including a 25-footer for eagle from just off the green at No. 16.

"I think I did that this week, put myself in another gear," Ames said. "It was a matter of seeing the shot and hitting the shot and not worrying about it because ... nobody was close to me to worry about it."

Not even Tiger Woods, who embarrassed Ames last month in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Ames riled Woods by saying that anything could happen, "especially where he's hitting the ball." Woods responded by beating Ames 9 and 8, the shortest match in 18-hole history. The score "9 and 8" had since become Ames' nickname.

Now, he might better be known as THE PLAYERS champion.

"This is big," said Ames, one of just four players (along with Goosen, Pat Perez and Camilo Villegas) to shoot better than par in each of the final two rounds. "This is characterized as the fifth major. I beat the top players in the world."

Including Woods, who twice made double bogey from the fairway and shot 75 to tie for 22nd, 15 shots out of the lead.

"That's golf," Woods said. "Each week is so different. Stephen didn't really play all that well when he played against me in the Match Play. The great thing about this game is it starts over the very next week."

Several contenders would like the start the final round over.

Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Mike Weir -- all of them playing in one of the final two pairings -- were a combined 13 over after the first five holes.

Playing with Ames, Singh shot 41 on the front, didn't make a birdie until the 11th hole and finished with a 77. Garcia and Weir didn't play any better. Garcia's three-putt bogey and double bogey into the water led to a 78. Weir hit into the water and three-putted on the same hole while shooting 79.

Ernie Els got within three shots of the lead until he found water on the 16th and 17th holes and settled for a 71.

"It was pretty close at one stage, but he played awesome," Goosen said. "He ran away with it at the end."

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