Masters Golf
On a serendipitous Easter Sunday, with a canopy of clouds crowding the still air, the essence of Augusta National Golf Club once again was revealed, shown reaching beyond the shackles of a tedious world to something metaphysical, ethereal, magical.
This is where the spirits conspire, whispering in the ears of sportsmen, breathing fortune on blessed men, turning them into believers. In the 68th Masters Tournament, Phil Mickelson, touched by an angel, won his first major championship and stared down his demons. “Surreal,” Mickelson said in describing what the moment felt like when a 20-foot birdie putt fell, he jumped in the air and an anvil on his back disintegrated.
Yes, this is the one place in golf where ghosts leave their footprints, and Sunday they walked with Mickelson, kept him believing and guided him to a one-stroke victory over Ernie Els in one of the most enervating and engaging Masters to date.
When the day was done, and his five-birdie blitz over the last seven holes freshly etched into history, Mickelson, 33, acknowledged that this major championship -- his 47th as a professional -- was unlike any other in which he had competed. "I was very confident that good things would happen," said Mickelson, who shrugged off two roundhouse eagles from Els and fired a closing 3-under-par 69 for a total of 9-under 279. “I had a different feeling playing this week … entering this tournament. I just had a real belief that I was going to come through. I had had that belief a number of times before, and it never happened. But this felt differnt."
It was different because Mickelson, for years prone to making wasteful strokes that belied his talents, had finally refined his game, taking to heart the direction of his swing coach, Rick Smith, and short-game instructor Dave Pelz. They brought temperance to various skill sets.
They made the left-hander understand that high-percentage plays had their own excitement. The Masters might be all about putting, as many players insist, but Mickelson merely tied for 23rd with 117 strokes on the green.
Meanwhile, his controlled swing made him first in greens in regulation as he hit 53 of 72 for 73.6 percent and he was ninth in driving accuracy (41 of 56; 73.2 percent). In 2001, when he began his record run of four straight finishes in the top 3, Mickelson converted 25 birdies, but ended up third because of eight bogeys and two double-bogeys. This year, his 16 birdies was the third-best total, but he tied for the fewest bogeys, suffering just five, all on the front side. Of course, there’s much of the old Mickelson still simmering.
The hair-on-fire Mickelson -- aggressive, assertive -- came out on cue, but now he was wrapped in an armor of precision. Lefty stepped to the tee at the diabolical par-3 12th hole, took dead aim at the pin knowing he needed a birdie. He lasered an 8-iron to within 12 feet and made the putt. "I took a pretty aggressive line at that pin. Nobody goes after that pin,” Mickelson said. “When the putt went in, that’s when I started to feel like I could make this happen."
Clutch birdies followed at Nos. 13 and 14, the latter with a wedge to within a foot. Then another 8-iron on the par-3 16th that set up a 15-foot birdie. After going out in 38, Mickelson had reeled in Els, who closed with a remarkable 67. But Mickelson had only tied Els.
He needed one more birdie for an outright victory. A perfect 3-wood off the tee, an 8-iron 20 feet above the hole, and one liberating putt that caught the edge and snuck in the back door, got him there. His inward 31 was the second best by a Masters winner, and the birdie was just the sixth on the 72nd hole by a champion.
