Phil Mickelson won The Masters Golf Tournament in dramatic style with a clutch 12 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge Ernie Els by a stroke. Here is the NY Times article on Mickelson’s victory.
As everyone who follows golf knows, it is Mickelson’s first victory in one of golf four major tournaments (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA) and finally lifts from Mickelson’s back the baggage of being “the best golfer never to have won a major.”
This afternoon was the best day of the Masters since Jack Nicklaus‘ dramatic victory at the age of 46 eighteen years ago in 1986 (has it really been that long?). The final nine of Augusta National Golf Club is legendary — there are two par fives that are legitimate eagle holes (13 and 15), two relatively short but testy par threes (12 and 16), an incredibly difficult par four (11), four solid par fours (10, 14, 17, 18), and nine greens that are severely undulating and lightning quick. Consequently, wild scoring swings can occur because, although eagles and birdies are quite possible, bogies and double bogies are looming everywhere if a player makes even the slightest error.
This final day of the Masters had more memorable shots on the back nine than any final day in Masters history. Within ten minutes of each other, Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett had holes-in-one of 16. K.J. Choi — a fellow resident of The Woodlands, Texas — holed a 225 yard five iron on the incredibly difficult 11th hole for an eagle, and then played superbly with playing partner Els down the stretch to finish in third place. After jump starting his round with an eagle at the 8th hole, Els stiffed a five iron on 13 to set up a 15 footer for another eagle, followed immediately by a clutch 20 foot putt for birdie by Mickelson on the devlish 12th hole. 46 year old Bernhard Langer remained in contention for his third Masters title until his 235 yard three iron hit the false front on the 15th hole and trickled agonizingly into the pond that fronts that green. And then Mickelson birdies 16 to tie Els, and then birdies 18 (after hitting a 303 yard drive with a 3 metal!) to win his first major golf tournament. Mickelson received a huge assist on his winning birdie putt from his playing partner Chris DiMarco, who blasted out of a greenside bunker to set up a putt on the same line as Mickelson’s. Accordingly, DiMarco’s putt gave Mickelson a good read for his birdie putt. These are just a few of the incredible shots that occurred today and does not include the pressure 5-10 foot putts that each competitor made to remain in the hunt.
Folks, television sports just does not get any better than this.
Mickelson’s win is surprising only because he has been so close and failed in many prior major golf events. It’s always been a mystery among Tour players why Mickelson had not won a major. He has all the tools — power off the tee, great shotmaking ability, and a fabulous short game. Moreover, Mickelson is legendary among Tour players for his ability to excel in pressure situations during the players’ “big bet” practice rounds before various tournaments. After a rather poor 2003 season, Mickelson used the off-season to make his swing more compact and controlled, and to work on his short game. The work is paying off, as he has now won two tournaments this season (the Bob Hope Desert Classic was the other one), finished third in the Players’ Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach, and had four other top ten finishes. As you would expect, he is the leading money winner on the Tour.
Now that Mickelson has the monkey off his back, it is time to figure out who is the new “best player never to have won a major golf tournament.” My initial list of candidates includes Colin Montgomerie (actually, he’s probably not good enough to win a major anymore), Darren Clarke, Stuart Appleby, Padraig Harrington, Robert Allenby, and the incredible Jay Haas.