"I never got this far in my dreams," said the 33-year-old American, the fifth left-handed winner in the last 10 years at Augusta and the eighth successive major champion who had never previously tasted success at the highest level of golf.

Watson beat South African Louis Oosthuizen - Open champion two years ago - at the second hole of a play-off, producing a breathtaking hook out of the trees and onto the green for a winning par four.

"I was there earlier," he said of his drive into trouble. "So I was used to it.

"I knew what I was facing. I had a good lie. I had to hook it about 40 yards, but I am pretty good at hooking it."

Watson and his wife adopted their first child recently and he added: "To go home to my new son is going to be fun."

Oosthuizen, who on the 575-yard second had produced the first albatross two in the tournament's history, came up short of the green at the 10th after they had first of all parred the 18th at the start of sudden death, and he took three more as he missed out on a second major.

On 10 under par Watson and Oosthuizen finished two ahead of England's Lee Westwood, Swede Peter Hanson and Americans Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar.