Mickelson gives us Masters story to feel good about
Family issues aside, things are looking up for Phil Mickelson at the Masters. He's one shot off the lead at 11 under going into Sunday's final round. (AP photo)
AUGUSTA – It’s a Masters weekend, and the story just changed to one we can wrap our arms around.
It’s not about the guy who is being protected by an army of security guards more fitting for heads of state as he walks around a golf course, just on the chance some fan mounts an attack with a pimento-cheese sandwich. It’s about the guy who moves about like he’s at a family reunion, with little visible security, smiling and acknowledging fans from tee to green.
It’s not about the guy whose wife, and mother of two, has — and certainly will have — all the money she’ll ever need, but had her life torn apart by a philandering husband. It’s about the guy whose wife, and mother of three, as well as his own mother, are undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Saturday at Augusta National belonged to Phil Mickelson. It should. He could use some good news.
Mickelson’s wife, Amy, and his mother, Mary, both are battling breast cancer. His family traveled with him to a tournament for the first time since Amy was diagnosed 11 months ago. This is their reward.
Phil Mickelson reacts after nearly chipping in on 15 for a third straight eagle. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Mickelson fired back-to-back eagles for the third time in Masters’ history on holes 13 and 14. He followed that with a birdie on 15. By the time his third round ended, he was 5 under for the day, 11 under for the tournament and one shot back of leader Lee Westwood.
Finally, a story that doesn’t come surgically attached to paparazzi. (On a related note, Tiger Woods is 8 under, and for once he was an afterthought.)
Mickelson called it “a fun round.” He talked about the loud roar he heard after the second eagle on 14, saying, “It was pretty cool, that walk up. I can’t believe that ball disappeared and went in.”
Then he addressed the significance of having his family here.
“This is the first time they’ve traveled in 11 months [since The Players Championship last May],” he said. “It’s really fun having them here. It takes a lot of the heartache away, and it’s been great.”
Mickelson’s wife and mother have been undergoing treatment at the M.D. Anderson
Amy Mickelson is in Augusta this week but has not attended any days of the tournament.
Cancer Center in Houston. Mary walked nine holes and watched her son play Thursday. Amy, weakened by treatments, is in Augusta but has yet to make it to the course.
Asked following his news conference Saturday whether his wife would attend the final round, Mickelson said, “I don’t think so.”
His kids caddied for him in Wednesday’s Par 3. Mickelson beamed throughout. There is no way to measure how having his family in Augusta has impacted his game. But given that he has one top-10 finish in seven tournaments this season, you be the judge.
He was 7 under and five shots back of Westwood when it seemed like somebody blasted him with pixie dust. On the par-5 13th, he reached the green in two with a 7-iron from 195 yards and putted home from eight feet for an eagle. On the par-4 14th, he hit his second shot with a wedge from 141 yards that bounced about six feet from the hole and rolled in.
With Westwood bogeying the 12th, Mickelson made up five strokes in two holes. He then birdied No. 15, narrowly missing a Masters’ record three consecutive eagles when his third shot from 87 yards out rolled just past the cup. This follows Friday when he birdied 13 and 17 and nearly No. 18, when a 50-foot putt lipped out. If he plays Sunday’s 18 the way he has played his past 27, he’ll win his third Masters.
We hear a lot about the pressure Woods is under. But that pressure is self-inflicted. Real pressure is what Mickelson is going through, not knowing whether you may lose your life partner for something completely out of your control.
His sponsor-covered hat now includes a pink ribbon for breast-cancer awareness. His wife’s doctors have become like family. Last week, at the Shell Open in Houston, Mickelson pulled oncologist Dr. Tom Buchholz out of the crowd and used him as a caddy for a few holes. Good karma. He birdied three consecutive holes.
“He’s been a huge part of helping us get through, and our surgeon, Dr. Kelly Hunt — this lady was incredible,” Mickelson said earlier this week. “These two have helped us in the toughest time of our life.”
A Masters win can’t possibly make up for everything. But it’s one story worth cheering for.
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180 comments Add your comment
Mr Charlie
April 11th, 2010
6:51 pm
Congrats to Phil.
Jacket Backer
April 11th, 2010
7:07 pm
to hell with tiger……. Way to go Phil!!!!!!!
Mr Charlie
April 11th, 2010
7:10 pm
I would have liked to see Tiger win just to see Billy Payne award him the jacket. However, I am glad Phil won too, guy has been through some hard times.
Chuck
April 11th, 2010
7:14 pm
Plop Plop Phil Phil Oh What a Relief it is. Tiger had 10 bogeys over the weekend…Amen.
Ken Stallings
April 11th, 2010
7:26 pm
It’s nice that the genuinely nice guy on the tour now has three green jackets. I don’t know if Tiger shall ever recapture the good image he used to have. But, his image was based upon talent.
Mickelson’s image was based on talent also, but even more on his personality. He’s the real deal, a man better off the course than on it.
Everyone in golf celebrates when Phil wins, more so when he wins the coveted green jacket.
DURWOOD FINCHER
April 11th, 2010
7:34 pm
GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT A GREAT FAMILY. THE BEST MAN WON. NOT ONLY IN
AUGUSTA, BUT IN OUR LIVES. WE ALL NEEDED TO SEE AND FEEL THAT HUG FROM
AMY. THE STORY READS LIKE A FAIRY TALE….NOW LET’S JUST HOPE THEY LIVE
HAPPILY EVER AFTER. KARMA RULES. GOOD KARMA ROCKS!!! THANKS AUGUSTA.
ANOTHER CLASSIC MASTER WEEKEND ON AND OFF THE COURSE.
Terry
April 11th, 2010
7:37 pm
Congrats Phil. Great win! Good luck in the Us open. Nice article Jeff. I was pulling for Phil from start to finish. Westwood’s time will come. Porbably this year at the Open.
messin with sasquatch
April 11th, 2010
7:42 pm
there is a golf god after all. tiger didn’t get embarassed by winning. nice that he stood up to the hard questions at the end.
and a class act phil mickelson won and his class act family was there for the photo op.
stop the hatin, people.
Tell It Like It Is
April 11th, 2010
7:45 pm
I am a Tiger guy but Michelson was better today. However, I wonder how many players could play as badly as Tiger did today and still shoot a 69. He is still numero uno. I like what he had to say after the tournament. There was no sucking up to the reporters with those stupid a.. questions. I guess we will not see Tiger again until the Players or the US Open. I will be in Kim’s corner until then.
cloudy
April 11th, 2010
7:58 pm
Good for Phil- nice job this week Jeff. Nice to have a new champ with class.
Doggit
April 11th, 2010
8:10 pm
Phil is a class act – congradz!
Michael
April 11th, 2010
8:23 pm
Please tell me you don’t think that Tiger was the only Professional Golfer to cheat on his wife! Not a cool thing to do but most of you guys don’t have a clue. It’s about golf and golf only. If you want to talk about infidelity, then go to the gossip colum where you belong.
Michael
April 11th, 2010
8:26 pm
@ jacket backer, the hell with you! Phil won and he played great, but what does any of that have to do with Tiger
Michael
April 11th, 2010
8:29 pm
Let’s not forget the man has not played competitive golf for 5 months and most of the so called experts didn’t think he would make the cut. So much for being an golf expert.
Tell It Like It Is
April 11th, 2010
8:36 pm
I went back and read some of the comments on this blog. Its a good thing that the so-called good guy won. Now the press can spend the rest of the week talking about how good everyone feels and not about how bad they dislike Tiger. The Golf Channel has already started a poll on who will win the most Masters between the two players and also about the Asian golfers. My vote is and will always be ….TIGER!!!!
gatormathis
April 11th, 2010
8:36 pm
Wow! Mr Schultz, you wrote a pretty nice, and what I feel to be an appropiate article. With all the hype and hoopala, how can anyone trying to participate in the Masters keep concentration, a straight face, or any resemblence of normality. And now you are probably catching more comments both pro and con than you ever have. It goes back to Adam and Eve, and the first bite, and has been going on ever since. The amazing anatomical part, that can be covered with two-fingers of bikini cloth, and yet pass a nine pound baby has caused as much happiness and heartache as a world can stand. It has felled countries, great people, and caused more damage than a million eathquakes. Yet, that is where we all begin, so there is no alternative, and it will continue to carry as much power, interest, and happiness on throughout the years. Maybe that’s why George Orwell neutralized the effect thereof in his book “1984″, with his hypothetical test tube babies. Tiger is neither the beginning, nor the end. He didn’t win the Masters, nor does his signing up make him heir to another Green Jacket, he must win by virtue of his score and skill. And as they used to say on the NFL, on any given Sunday, any team can win….today was someone else’s day. All had good games….Phil’s score was simply better and he deserves the congratulations.
Mickelson gives us a Masters' moment to remember | Jeff Schultz
April 11th, 2010
8:52 pm
[...] ♦ Mickelson gives us Masters story to feel good about [...]
crabapplejoe
April 11th, 2010
9:01 pm
Thanks for a great Masters Mr. Mickelson….you were a class act on a beautiful Spring Sunday.
Ted Striker
April 11th, 2010
9:04 pm
GatorMathis — I swear to goodness I will be quoting you, starting with sentence #4 in your 8:36 p.m. post.
Truer words have never been spoken…although Chris Rock did in fact say something very similar in a routine he did in NYC. You said it cleaner than him.
Judy
April 11th, 2010
9:06 pm
Phil Mickelson is a role model not just for the golf community, but for all the fathers, sons, daughters and wives. His win today was the greatest and his reaction to receiving the Green Jacket was important to Phil, but when he walked off the course and greeted his wife, Amy, and his children, that was the moment that no one will forget. How humble Phil is. Phil’s first class true character shown through. How proud he was and his graciousness and love of family is what counted to him, at that moment. God Bless you and yours Phil, it is a moment I will never forget. You shared your tears with Amy and I shared my tears with you…You are number ONE but not just on the golf course, but in life itself….Thank you for the wonderful experience I had today….
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April 11th, 2010
9:59 pm
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April 11th, 2010
10:07 pm
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April 11th, 2010
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Amy Mickelson Breast Cancer - Ardub
April 11th, 2010
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2010 Masters Prize Money - Ardub
April 11th, 2010
10:19 pm
[...] green jacket. Congratulations for that victory Phil. 2010 masters prize money 2010 masters prize m2010 Masters Prize Money – We already knew that Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament earning him the most [...]
Amy Mickelson Breast Cancer | Ifdny
April 11th, 2010
10:23 pm
[...] [...]
2010 Masters Prize Money | Ifdny
April 11th, 2010
10:24 pm
[...] green jacket. Congratulations for that victory Phil. 2010 masters prize money 2010 masters prize m2010 Masters Prize Money – We already knew that Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament earning him the most [...]
Mona
April 12th, 2010
3:20 pm
You are no different from any of the other sports writer that wrote about Tiger. I am so happy for Phil and admire his golfing skills. You could have written a glowing article about Phil and never mentioned Tiger. Tiger’s transgressions have absolutely nothing to do with Phil winning the Master. Phil won because he was the best man on the course for four consecutive days!!!! May Phil continue to be the outstanding man that he is on and off the golf course. Leave Tiger out of the next article you write about Phil.
Judy
April 12th, 2010
6:24 pm
THANKS MONA … ….Phil is #1 and no doubt about it…his.Integrity, his character is what I call class. TW is not in the same league as Phil….I would hope that there is less about TW and his personal life. Enough is enough…get on with it…The news media has turned Phil’s victory as a “moment” event and not a monumental event. This morning on a major cable news report, TW was mentioned before Phil…and it seemed like Phil was an after thought….It was a sports event that is revered and traditional. Traditional, yes, it was….Revered, no ….It was the wrong approach for reporting and was way off base.and a disgrace to golf fans. Phil is my hero,.win, or lose, Phil has my vote.!!!!! More of you should follow his lead, on and off the golf course.
TommyJack
April 13th, 2010
11:18 am
gdg73: Are you really Cynthia Tucker?