Zach Johnson carded a three-under-par round of 69 to claim the US Masters with a score of one-over-par, holding off the challenge of Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen on the final day at Augusta.

Johnson began the day tied in fourth place at four-over-par and a bogey at the first did not help his cause. But birdies at the next two holes put him right back in contention.

Scoring continued to be high, as it had been all week, so when Johnson strung together three birdies in four holes on the back nine it had a devastating effect on the leaderboard.

Despite dropping a stroke at the 17th hole Johnson held his nerve at the 18th and then waited to see if anyone in the following groups could better his score.

Goosen started the day on fire with four birdies on the front nine catapulting him into contention but he could not keep the momentum going and had to settle for a share of second place.

He was joined by Woods who struggled early on, making three bogies, until an eagle at the 13th hole rejuvenated him. However he could not capitalise on that and finished his round at level-par, three-over for the tournament.

Justin Rose again gave himself a great chance of winning despite two double-bogies at the start of his round. Six birdies put him within one shot of Johnson as he played the 17th hole but another double-bogey ended his dreams for another year.

Johnson's winning score of 289 was the joint highest in Masters history and is the 31-year-olds first major title of his career