Hometown hero Bubba Watson defeated South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the 76th US Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National on Sunday.

Watson came up with a stunning escape shot on the second hole of the sudden death and then two-putted for par to win the title and the green jacket. It was Watson's first career major as he became only the third left-hander ever to win the Masters.

"I never got this far in my dreams," CNN quoted the 33 year old, who broke down into tears after the victory as he embraced his mother, Molly, as saying.

After both golfers could not better each other on the 18th, the duel was decided on Watson's fantastic recovery shot from the trees. After his curled shot landed on the green and Oosthuizen missed his par putt, it took Watson just two putts to win his first major title.

"He hit an unbelievable shot. It's not like I played badly. It was a great day. I had a lot of fun," The Sun quoted Oosthuizen as saying.

The duo had finished the regulation 72 holes at 10-under 278, with Oosthuizen carding a three-under 69 and Watson drawing level with four consecutive birdies from the 13th on the way to a 68.

The story heading into this year's Masters was the battle between two of golf's biggest mainstream stars - Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. However, after the tournament the spotlight is strictly on one person, one of the most intriguing top-tier golfers today - Watson.

Meanwhile for Woods, the long road back to the top looks further away. Just two weeks after he won his first PGA Tour event in more than two years, Woods slumped to his worst-ever finish at the Masters. Both Woods and McIlroy finished tied together at five-over, 15 shots adrift after final rounds of 74 and 76 respectively, which is Woods' worst performance at Augusta National since he turned professional.

Watson joined fellow left-handers Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010) and Canadian Mike Weir (2003) as winners of the Masters.

Check out some of the best moments of Watson's Masters campaign:

Bubba Watson of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during first round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta
Bubba Watson of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during first round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Reuters
Watson of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during second round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
Watson of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during second round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta Reuters
Watson of the U.S. chips to the first green during third round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
Watson of the U.S. chips to the first green during third round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta Reuters
Watson of the U.S. shakes hands with Oosthuizen of South Africa after finishing their regulation round tied during final round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
Watson of the U.S. shakes hands with Oosthuizen of South Africa after finishing their regulation round tied during final round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta Reuters
Watson of the U.S. hits from a sand trap on the second hole during final round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
Watson of the U.S. hits from a sand trap on the second hole during final round play in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta Reuters
Bubba Watson of the U.S. hugs his mother Mollie after winning the the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta
Bubba Watson of the U.S. hugs his mother Mollie after winning the the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Reuters
Watson of the U.S. celebrates after winning the Masters during a playoff in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta
Watson of the U.S. celebrates after winning the Masters during a playoff in the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Reuters
Bubba Watson
Masters winner Bubba Watson is golf's newest star. Here are 5 things to know about the exciting PGA talent. Reuters
Bubba Watson of the U.S. receives his green jacket from 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa after winning a playoff to become champion of the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
Bubba Watson of the U.S. receives his green jacket from 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa after winning a playoff to become champion of the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta Reuters
Bubba Watson of the U.S. wears his green jacket after winning the the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta
Bubba Watson of the U.S. wears his green jacket after winning the the 2012 Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Reuters
Masters