The fist pump. The hands raised in the air. Even the jig.

Decades later, the images are still fresh.

Gary Player punching the air after making birdie on the 18th hole to capture his third and final Masters Tournament victory.

Sandy Lyle doing a victory dance on the final green at Augusta National Golf Club after sinking his birdie putt for the win.

Mark O'Meara raising his arms in triumph after birdieing the final two holes for his first major triumph.

Six golfers - Player, Lyle, O'Meara, Art Wall Jr., Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson - have birdied the final hole at the Masters to earn their green jacket.

Something magical seems to happen every 10 years at Augusta, or at least over the last 30 years. Player made his putt in 1978, Lyle followed suit in 1988 and O'Meara continued the trend in 1998.

Who will roll in the winning putt at No. 18 tomorrow?

1978 - GARY PLAYER

Player entered the 1978 Masters four years removed from his last PGA Tour victory, and at age 42 he was considered ``over the hill'' by almost everyone.

Rounds of 72, 72 and 69 left him in 10th place, seven strokes behind Hubert Green, entering the final round.

He knew he needed a low round to put pressure on the leaders. His 2-under-par 34 on the front nine was solid but not good enough.

Then the charge began.

On No. 10, Player rolled in a 25-footer for birdie, then made a 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 12. When he two-putted both of the par-5s on the back nine for birdies, Player had drawn closer to the leaders.

With three holes to play, the tournament was up for grabs. Player promptly gained another shot with a birdie on No. 16, then made par on the 17th.

Walking up the 18th, Player needed a birdie to shoot 30 on the back nine and match the existing course record of 64. He stuck his 6-iron approach about 15 feet above the hole.

The putt was true all the way, and Player showed his exuberance by punching the air with his fist. His 8-under 64 remains the lowest final round by a Masters champion.

Three players had chances to match Player's 11-under total of 277, but Green, Tom Watson and Rod Funseth all fell short.

Player proved the victory was no fluke. He followed it with a win at the Tournament of Champions the next week, then completed a hat trick with a victory at the Houston Open for his third win in as many weeks.

After getting the ceremonial green jacket from Masters Chairman Bill Lane, Player had the final word for those who doubted him.

"That is a tremendous thrill,'' Player said, "particularly because some people have wrote of me as a fading star.''

1988 - SANDY LYLE

Lyle, the 1985 British Open champion, was part of the European invasion that put a stranglehold on the Masters in the 1980s and through the mid-1990s.

Nothing Lyle had done in six previous Masters appearances, however, suggested that he was ready to slip on a green jacket.

But he did have a pretty good idea of how to win it. Lyle had a front-row seat in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus closed with 65 to win his sixth and final green jacket.

As Nicklaus' playing partner, he was witness to one of the greatest moments in Masters history.

"Here I am playing the last day,'' Lyle said. "I'm doing well myself, but he just got the putts (to fall) in the middle of the round.''

Two years later, Lyle found himself in the lead all by himself heading into the final round.

Rounds of 71, 67 and 72 left him two shots clear of Mark Calcavecchia.

Lyle enjoyed a three-shot lead through 10 holes before stumbling at Amen Corner and falling behind Calcavecchia. He regained a share of the lead with a birdie on No. 16.

With Calcavecchia in the clubhouse, Lyle needed a par on the final hole to force a sudden-death playoff. His drive found the fairway bunker on the left side of the fairway, and his chances appeared dim.

But his 7-iron from the bunker landed about 30 feet past the pin, then trickled back down to about 10 feet.

With Calcavecchia watching nearby, Lyle rolled in the birdie putt to avoid a playoff and secure his second major championship.

He then did a celebratory jig.

"It's not a putt you want to have every day of the week,'' Lyle said. "Your knees are knocking a little bit. . . . You've got to go through the motion. I've learned to keep my nerves under control.''

1998 - MARK O'MEARA

Like Player two decades before, O'Meara wasn't on anyone's radar screen coming into the Masters.

Rounds of 74 and 70 put him well within the cut, but it wasn't until a third-round 68 that O'Meara felt any confidence. A putting tip from his instructor, Hank Haney, helped him feel more comfortable on Augusta National's slick greens.

He found himself in the final pairing with one of his friends on tour, Fred Couples.

Couples held the lead for much of the day, but David Duval and Jim Furyk also made moves in the final round.

O'Meara gained some early momentum, but couldn't take the lead. A good tee shot on the par-3 16th left O'Meara a chance to tie Couples, but he missed the putt.

That left the mild-mannered O'Meara hot under the collar.

He told his caddie, Jerry Higgenbotham, that he was going to birdie the final two holes.

O'Meara made the first part of his prediction come true. He hit it to 10 feet on the 17th hole and made that putt to forge a tie with Couples and Duval, the clubhouse leader.

The second part of the prediction would be trickier. O'Meara hit a good tee shot, but his 7-iron approach finished 20 feet right of the cup.

Couples, meanwhile, hit his second shot into the front bunker. After he blasted out to a short distance, all eyes turned to O'Meara.

He had a putt to win the Masters.

"A foot and a half from it, I thought it's going to go in," O'Meara said. "I thought, 'Please don't lip out.'"

It didn't, and O'Meara had the chance to celebrate. In his 15th attempt at Augusta, he was finally a winner.

"My arms went up in shock," he said. "I realized the ball just went in and I had won the Masters."

Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 or john.boyette@augustachronicle.com.