It’s April, The Masters, and Phil Mickelson

I look at the top five moments of my hero Phil Mickelson’s golfing career.

I await the summer of April with a storied tease, with birthdays of William Wordsworth, Sir William Shakespeare, and Mohammed Shahid occupying three big weeks before life in the subcontinent of India busies itself into a summer of +47^o c. But to satiate the sports palate of many a loyal, an Indian citizen will look at least 13,000 km to the west for an Atlanta morning – The Masters in Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia.

Tiger Woods invites curiosity and evokes a peculiar nostalgia. At the start of every Major, Tiger brings a fresh pot of tea and a chalice of an enigma. As Rory Mcllroy says, “Everyone hopes it’s not the end of Tiger’s Old Course career. I think he deserves, and we deserve, him to have another crack at it.” But for a mere mortal like me, it is never wise to consider the unorthodox version of Tiger’s vocabulary.

I look at the top five moments of my hero Phil Mickelson’s golfing career.

1991: Northern Telecom Open, Tuscon, Arizona. In 1991, Phil became the only amateur to win the Tuscon Open. In the first three rounds at TPC Starr Pass course, Phil shot 65-71-65 for a two-stroke lead. High, soft-landing iron shots and a great short game propelled Phil to birdie on the 72nd hole and helped him beat Americans Bob Tway and Tom Purtzer by one shot. Tway missed the green on the 17th, and Purtzer had a double bogey on the tournament’s final hole. In this sojourn, he joined Gene Littler, Doug Sanders, and Scott Verplank as the only amateurs with victories on a PGA Tour.

2005: PGA Championship, Springfield, New Jersey. In 2005, Phil flopped a birdie on the final hole for his second major and beat Australian Steve Elkington and Danish Thomas Bjorg. For the first time since 1986, the final round unended on Sunday as Thomas Bjorn and Steve Elkington was one shot of Phil with four and three holes left. When play resumed on Monday morning, Phil chipped from 50 feet to 2 feet to birdie the final hole and a final score of 67-65-72-72 for 276 (-4). Elkington and Bjorn missed their final birdie putts, allowing Phil to become the seventh wire-to-wire winner and the first since Tiger Woods in 2000 at the PGA Championship. The fact that Phil strengthened his position alongside Tiger Woods at the top of the golfing world was astounding, given that he had accomplished this during Tiger’s rule. The monkey was off the back of a man notorious for coming in second place after winning his second major championship.

2006: BellSouth Classic, Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia. In 2006, Phil beat American Zach Johnson and the Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal to win at Sugarloaf by 13 strokes. He shot 63-65-67-65 for a 28-under par, the third lowest of his career and a tournament record. This was a successful defense of the 2005 BellSouth Classic. The following week, he won the Masters at Augusta. He shot 70-72-70-69 for 281 (–7) and was two strokes ahead of runner-up South African Tim Clark. This was the final Masters outing for the Englishman Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo.

2010: The Masters, Augusta, Georgia. In 2009, Phil’s wife, Amy Mickelson, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, which took a huge stroll on his mental health. At the Masters, Phil shot 73-68-71-67 for a 279 (-9) to lose on the final day to Argentine Angel Cabrera. The same year at the US Open in Farmingdale, New York, Phil shot a similar 69-70-69-70 for a 278 (-2). In 2010, on the golf course, Phil yearned for control and composure, and he believed Augusta might offer that respite. However, he also looked for estuaries on the oases of the real world. Amy, his wife, had cancer and had been given the news. As Amy had been Mickelson’s rock for so long, he could tell it bothered him to see her struggle and gave him the motivation to keep going. A resurgent and revitalized Phil struck 67-71-67-67 for a 272 (-16) to beat Englishman Lee Westwood by three strokes. After two birdies in his first three holes, Fred Couples got out in front early on the leaderboard, but he lost steam and finished in sixth place. Lee Westwood, the overnight leader, had a shaky start as Phil Mickelson aced his opening seven holes. Mickelson drew away from Westwood in the final round with a round of 67 that was bogey-free to win the competition. The Mickelson embraced after winning in one of the poignant days of international golf and sport. After all the controversy following Woods’ troubles, it elevated Mickelson above many of his contemporaries and gave golf favorable publicity.

2004: The Masters, Augusta, Georgia. Following the poor and winless 2003 PGA Tour season Phil Mickelson recommitted himself to honing his short game, particularly his driving accuracy and control with his irons. In January 2004, Phil Mickelson suffered a personal loss when his maternal grandfather Al Santos died at 97. Santos was among the first caddie corps at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1919. Just before the tournament, a decision was made about the sudden-death playoff to start on18th hole and alternate with the 10th hole Phil Mickelson pulled the rabbit off his back on the biggest stage in golf after so many heartbreaks and letdowns. He played second fiddle to Tiger Woods for almost ten years but could not win a major victory. However, he certainly had his chances. He had nine top-four results out of his 17 top-10 performances in majors going into 2004. Under pressure from a charging South African in Ernie Els, Mickelson could have another close call on Masters Sunday. But Els was forced to wait as Mickelson approached the 18th hole with an 18-foot birdie putt to win with a final score of 72-69-69-69 for 279 (-9). The fantastic combination experienced a magnificent moment that will live forever as caddy Jim “Bones” Mackay claimed the 18th flag as a souvenir.

I wish Phil well in this year’s Masters!

https://youtu.be/i4I-GeJ-TII