Masters Tap-ins

A few backhanded stabs at the hullabaloo going on down in the sleepy little town of Augusta, Georgia this week ...

Phil the Fave

So before this past weekend, everybody was talking about how wide-open this year's Masters was. Now, suddenly, in the wake of Phil the Thrill's swashbuckling win at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday, Mickelson is suddenly the man to beat. It's an obvious conclusion, but is it a logical one?

     I would love to see Lefty wearing his fourth green jacket come Sunday evening – for a variety of reasons. But it seems to me that Phil plays his best when expectations are low. Last year, no one expected much from him following a very mediocre performance in Houston the week before. Besides, he'd been through so much in the previous year. How could golf possibly be his top priority right now.

 Image: AP via www.nj.com

Ditto last week, when Phil candidly talked about he wasn't going to be focused on winning in Houston as much as he was going to be working on the shots he would need at Augusta. As much as anything, I suspect he was trying to take the pressure off by saying those things. But guess what? Turns out those two objectives (winning and practicing) were not at such cross purposes. Phil won handily, displaying all the flair, risk-taking, and shot-making we see in Phil when Phil is at his best.

     But now, instead of going into The Masters without having shown much this year (or since last year's Masters, for that matter), he goes in with expectations soaring. As he was closing in on his victory Sunday, NBC's Johnny Miller commented that the biggest thing Phil may have to practice between then and next Sunday would be "putting on his own green jacket"! How's that for a ringing endorsement?

     I'm just sayin' ... I don't expect Phil to fold under the weight of expectations, but I think it's a possibility. (Not to mention that Phil can potentially get to #1 in the world with a Masters win – and he's historically blown it every previous time he's had a chance to do that.)

The Tiger Zone

A lot of people also seem to think that this may be the week Tiger finally returns to form. After all, they point out, he finished fourth last year after not having played a tournament in five months! Augusta is where he feels most comfortable, so it would only make sense that now, with the scandal further behind him and more "tournament-tested" than he was a year ago, how can he not improve on last year's performance?

 Image: 3-Putt Territory via www.examiner.com

But the big wild card is still the swing change. He's still struggling mightily, seemingly hitting as many disastrously bad shots as "old Tiger" brilliant ones. And the expectations last year were rock bottom; there was no pressure for him to perform. Of course, one of the defining characteristics of Augusta National – as Phil demonstrated so brilliantly last year – is that it affords recovery opportunities (to those with the short games up to the task) like no other course. So it's certainly possible for Tiger to contend, or even win, without his ballstriking being at peak form.

     It's cliche to say, but I think his putting will be the key. And he really hasn't shown much reason for confidence there in recent weeks either.

Supernatural Augusta

Augusta National has often struck me as the most unnaturally natural place you can imagine. It's nature manicured almost beyond recognition; almost beyond what you can really consider "nature." Almost supernatural. If there's golf in Heaven, I imagine the courses look something like the course The Masters is played on.

 Image: Masters.org

On Monday night this week, a windstorm blew through the course and took down a few trees – not that you or anyone else would ever know it first-hand. The course's response to the damage was magnificently swift – and secretive, as reported today at golfdigest.com. Here's a sample from the full article:

Arriving at Augusta National shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, there were trees down in the parking lot. Entering the gates - only the media and others working on site were allowed on the property at that time - you were serenaded by the sound of power saws working as downed trees on the golf course were being removed. The normal 8 a.m. opening to the public was delayed and eventually pushed back to 8:45.
 
In the media food room was the odd sight of a dozen or so of the best photographers in the world sitting and drinking coffee, unable to go onto the course to shoot the damage. Those are the kind of images the folks at Augusta National Golf Club do not like the public to see. This is a place where even the garbage is green - all sandwich wrappers and every cup - and nary a cigarette butt can be found on the ground. This is a place where workers pick through the azalea bushes to remove dead leaves.

This just in: A tree apparently blew down during a practice round Tuesday afternoon. No one was hurt. But will we see pictures?

Stricker Update

Hey, it's been a while seen we've mentioned Steve Stricker here at Whiffling Straits, hasn't it? Well, let's remedy that right here. Two things ...

     I couldn't help but notice that at least two writers over at golf.com mentioned Steve among their Masters picks in Monday's weekly PGA Tour Confidential feature. It seems his strong performance in Houston last week, where he finished alone in fourth, got some of their attention. He hasn't shown us much this year, but is he peaking at the right time? Well, according to local golf columnist Gary D'Amato ...

     Stricker has been tweaking his swing a bit these past few months (and also sharpening his putting stroke on a putting green he recently built in his basement!) in an effort to correct a little something. It seems Steve, whose natural play is a slight draw, had begun hooking the ball a little bit more than the optimal amount. Stricker told D'Amato:

"I don't want to get rid of that (draw), but it's gotten to the point where I'm not getting a lot of (backspin) on my ball and I need that with my irons. I haven't hit my irons particularly well this year. I haven't played poorly, but I haven't played like I want to play yet."

I'm not ready to count Stricker among the favorites – my heart is not strong enough for that! But I like what I saw in Houston, and like everybody's been saying, this Masters is wide-open. At least, it was until a few days ago, and now Phil is the favorite, but ... [continue reading at top of page].

Open Championship Tap-Ins

A few stray shots on the recently concluded 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews ...

Tiger's Putter. I found the whole Tiger Woods putter drama fairly interesting. On one hand, it probably wasn't that big a deal, because his new Nike Method putter was very similar to his old Scotty Cameron Titleist model – which he'd use to win 13 of his 14 majors. The new one no doubt had been set up to feel as much like the old one as possible; the difference being the "hotter" face on the Nike to get the ball moving a little quicker on the slow St. Andrews greens. But to me the bigger surprise was not the switch but the switch back on Sunday. It made me wonder two things: 1) Had Nike been pressuring Tiger at all to switch to a Nike putter? As I understand it, Tiger's club contract allows him some flexibility with club choices. But it's not hard to imagine something like this coming from Nike, either stated of implied: "Tiger, we stuck with you through all of this, now it's your turn to do something for us." 2) Conversely, how did Nike feel about him abandoning it after three rounds? After all the ballyhoo, they could not have been too happy.

     More significantly, you have to wonder if Tiger's putting switcheroo is a sign of desperation. Could Tiger's putting stroke be starting to abandon him – for good? It's astonishing how many all-time great golfers had their putting strokes go south at some point – or at least not be what they once were. Palmer, Hogan, Watson, and Snead come immediately to mind. Lower on the list are guys like Singh and Langer, who try all kinds of different methods to regain their putting touch. It's been easy to think of Tiger as being immune to such "human" frailties. But, as Joe Posnanski (one of the most consistently thoughtful writers on all things Tiger) writes, Tiger may be closer to descending back to earth than a lot of people are willing to admit.

UPDATE: A little more on Tiger's putter saga from David Dusek at golf.com here (in which the author, among other things, briefly addresses the "conspiracy theory" posed above about Nike's role in the switch. In short: He doesn't buy it).

Rory's Roller-coaster. What to make of Rory McIlroy? For one, I just love the fact that he still has never shot in the 70s at the Old Course – it's just that one of those non-70s rounds is now an inglorious 80. His 63 on Thursday was very impressive. Yes, it was shot in extremely benign conditions, but you still have to hit the shots and make the putts. And he bested the field by two strokes with his major championship record-tying score. As impressive as he was on Thursday, he looked just as lost in the high winds on Friday. But he showed a lot by bouncing back with 69-68 on the weekend to finish tied for third. Makes you wonder if anyone has ever finished so high in a major with an 80 on the card.

     And speaking of benign conditions ...

St. Andrews without Wind. It really was amazing how easy the course looked on Thursday morning. It was tempting to think that maybe St. Andrews has been "outgrown" by the caliber of today's players and the level of today's technology. I don't think that's the case. It seems to me that it's really just a matter of the elements being an essential part of the Old Course experience. It played tough enough the rest of the week. And if they "tricked up" the course any more to guard against the windless onslaught, the course could get almost unplayable when the weather changes – which it can do at a moment's notice. It seems unfair that the guys who played Thursday morning had so much better scoring conditions than the afternoon group, but that really is just part of the game – especially in links golf. The ones who accept that – even embrace it – are the ones who will succeed (see: Watson, Tom). The ones who don't ...

Phil's Demeanor. I have to say I was disappointed in Phil Mickelson's performance. Not with his ball-striking so much as his attitude. He felt cheat by having to play in the bad afternoon weather on Thursday, but rather than shrug it off, do his best to look at it as an extra challenge instead of a tragedy, he seemed to pout his way around the golf course. He looked defeated before his was halfway through his first round. Again, see: Watson, Tom. Story goes (retelling from memory) that Watson's longtime caddie Bruce Edwards, who went to work for Greg Norman for a couple years later in his career, explained the difference between his two bosses this way: He said that if Norman would hit a perfect drive only to subsequently find his ball in divot, he would get upset and curse his luck. Watson, on the other hand, would say something like, "Watch what I can do with this shot!" It takes only looking at Norman's and Watson's respective records in majors to understand which approach is more effective. (Are you reading this, Phil?) Speaking of attitude ...

Louie Ooie. I'm not sure which was more impressive, Louis Oosthuizen's ball-striking (especially his driving) or his calm on-course demeanor. Everybody, myself included, seemed convinced that he was a "rabbit," one of those no-name early leaders who sets a torrid pace in the early going but then inevitably fades. But he surprised us all with an historic display of precision ball-striking and all-around good play. He won by SEVEN! That's huge. That's Tiger big. His win was no fluke (even though he did benefit from the benign conditions on Thursday morning). Only time will tell where he goes from here, but he's easy to like and easy to root for. And I love the little red dot that he has on his glove to think about when he's trying not to think about anything. You can bet you'll be seeing a few more red dots around the golf world in the near future.

Gary Player and the Claret Jug. Finally, I got a big kick out of a story told near the end of the ESPN telecast – I think by Mike Tirico – about the engraving of names on the legendary trophy. Back in the day, it was once the responsibility of the winner to have his own name engraved on the trophy (such as is the case with the legendary WLC traveling trophy). However, when Gary Player won it (likely either in 1974 or 1968, Tirico did not specify) he had his name engraved LARGER than the other names! Ever since, the R&A has taken the responsibility of engraving the names on the Claret jug. This story strikes me as one that could be apocryphal, but I want to believe it because it's so consistent with what I've written about Player previously: that even though by all accounts he's a warm, charming, gracious, and generous individual, his ego sometimes gets the better of him!

Tap-Ins

A few back-handed stabs at things that have caught my attention, at the U.S. Open and elsewhere ...

No Fourth First for #1. Boy, it's hard to know what to make of Tiger Woods these days. On Saturday, he looked like his old self. His second-shot approach on number 18, a big left-to-right bender around the fairway trees, was one for the archives. He looked poised to take charge on Sunday and claim his fourth U.S. Open title. But instead he looked as mortal as everyone else. So we know he still has it in him; he just can't seem to tap into it on demand these days.
     I also couldn't help but wonder if the prospect of a big win on Father's Day might have gotten into his head just a bit. On Saturday night, when it looked like he might just be able to win this thing, I found myself thinking, "Who will he hug?" His dad has passed on and his own kids are off with Elin somewhere, presumably. It's like that commercial where the kid makes a hole-in-one in the fading twilight, only to realize there was no one around to see it. Seldom does a man feel so alone as in the light of solitary glory.
     And you know what I wish? I wish he'd drop the dropped club routine when he hits a bad one. It just bugs me; strikes me as childish. It's like he wants us to know that he knows he hit a bad shot before we can figure it out for ourselves. He probably does without even really thinking about it, but it's unnecessary. But then, it's not an F-bomb. And with all he's going through, maybe we should just take what we can get.

No Sixth Second for #2. Was I the only kinda sorta hoping that if Phil Mickelson didn't win on Sunday that he would finish second? It would have been the sixth runner-up finish in the U.S. Open for the man who already holds the record at five. It sounds cruel, I know. And Phil himself was quoted after the tournament saying, "I'm glad it wasn't a second." But that would have been something, wouldn't it? It's the sort of quirky statistic I often find myself rooting for. But hey, it could have been worse. (Image: John Biever/Sports Illustrated, via golf.com)

Sweet T16. How 'bout them college kids, huh? My new favorite amateur, Illini star and NCAA champ Scott Langley, and Georgia Bulldog Russell Henley showed up a lot of veterans at Pebble Beach. Both shot +8 292 to tie for 16th place overall and share the low-amateur honors. It was just the third time in the last 30 years an amateur has finished in the top 20 at the U.S. Open, something never accomplished by Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. They finished tied with Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk, and placed ahead of such notables as Sergio Garcia (+9), Angel Cabrera (+9), Tom Watson (+11), Kenny Perry (+12), Ryo Ishikawa (+12), Vijay Singh (+13), Stewart Cink (+13), Steve Stricker (+15), Camilo Villegas (+18), Zach Johnson (+22), and Rory McIlroy (MC), to name only a few.
     You can read more about Henley's performance here, about Langley's U.S. Open here, and read a Q&A with Langley here. 

Practice round at Erin Hills. In my previous post, I wrote that some feel the tiny town of Erin, home to Erin Hills golf course, is not up for hosting a major sporting even like the U.S. Open (Erin Hill was just awarded the 2017 event). On Sunday, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ran an article about the town's opportunity for a "practice round" when the course hosts the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship. They're going to need it. Because if the lead photo is any indication, the most exciting thing going on in Erin these days is the daily father-son sweeping exhibitions at the local gas station.

Whiffling Straits at Whistling Straits. The Whiffler is excited to announce that he's been invited to take part in a golf outing at Whistling Straits next week. We'll be on the Irish Course, not the Straits Course (which is where the pros will play in August), but Pete Dye's less-famous Kohler gem will easily be the finest course I've ever played. Will Whiffling Straits be blogging about the Whistling Straits experience? Did a young Ben Hogan sleep in a sand trap in order to get the best caddie jobs early in the morning? (The answer is "yes.") (Image: The 6th at the Irish Course at Whistling Straits, golf.com)
      The occasion is the third annual golf outing for the Stacey Elizabeth Mayer Foundation, established two years ago to fund scholarships for students attending Capernwray Bible School in Carnforth, England. Stacey, 19, was a student there when she was killed in a car crash while home in Wisconsin for the summer in 2007. Her parents, Steve and Sue Mayer, are friends of ours and I'm proud to take part in such a worthwhile event.

Steve Stricker Wins U.S. Open!

Wishful thinking? Perhaps. But not outrageous thinking, by any means, in The Whiffler's estimation. Stricker winning the 2010 U.S. Open is certainly more likely to happen than for Tiger Woods to win by 15 strokes again, as he did 10 years ago, the last time the U.S. Open was played at Pebble Beach.
     In fact, here is a whole list of things that are more likely to happen in the next five days than Tiger winning by 15:

Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler could stage their own consolation tournament. Call it the "Coulda-Shoulda Cup." Among the invitees: Jordan Spieth, Corey Pavin, Tom Kite, J.B. Holmes, Lee Janzen, and Tony Romo, all of whom, to greater or lesser degrees of fanfare, failed to qualify for this year's event. Trophy: A blaze-orange sportcoat with a Union Jack pattern. First prize: $150 (the entry fee for a U.S. Open qualifier) and an honorary membership in the Vijay Singh fan club. (Image: golf.puma.com)

Rory McIlroy could win by 15. To clarify, these are not things I expect to happen. But Rory McIlroy has a better chance of blowing away the field this week than Tiger does. The young Irishman showed at Quail Hollow that he's not afraid to go low – and has the kind of game that can transcend the ordinary. Granted, he has some consistency issues (he's barely 21!), but if anyone in the field has the potential to heat up this week and run away with it, it's Rory. We've seen glimpses (but only glimpses so far) of his "A" game, and it's breathtaking.

The Monterey Peninsula could be invaded by vuvuzela-blowing World Cup soccer fans. Not likely, as they're all busy down in South Africa this week, thank goodness. But if any stray horn-blowers were to infiltrate the Pebble Beach proceedings, you can be certain that the USGA and its henchmen would clamp down on the unwelcome intruders faster than Steve Williams can grab a camera from your hands.

Ray Romano could break 80. By my calculation, Hank Haney is now 0-for-2 in his Golf Channel "projects," having failed to rehabilitate Charles Barkley or coach Romano to a sub-80 round. I wonder if his reputation will suffer at all? In fairness, however, I really enjoyed the final episode with Ray, where Hank had him play a one-man, two-ball scramble on a miserably wet and rainy day at Liberty National. When Hank asked him to predict a score, Ray, always the negative thinker, said "83."  He then went on to shoot a scramble score of 3-over 75 in the tough conditions. Knowing that he had, in essence, a mulligan on every shot relaxed him, and allowed him to hit mostly good shots on the first try. And the exercise showed that Ray has it in him to hit enough quality shots to break 80 easily, if he can free himself from the negative thoughts that haunt him on the course. A lesson for us all, I think.

Phil the Thrill could hit a whale. Remember, at Pebble (that's what the cool kids call it, just "Pebble") there are no corporate tents to the left of the 18th fairway to keep Phil's ball in play, as there were at Winged Foot in 2006. There are only rip tides and marine life. So don't be shocked if you see Lefty wading in toward the setting Father's Day sun, a la George Costanza, looking for a Callaway lodged in a blowhole. ("The sea was angry that day, my friends. Like John Daly trying to send back a decaffeinated Diet Coke at Hooters.")

Sergio Garcia could blame his poor performance on global warming. The ocean is right there, after all, and how can a guy concentrate when it's getting higher and higher all the time? It's just not fair.

NCAA champ Scott Langley could wear a "Save the Chief" hat in the first round. Langley, a University of Illinois junior, is not a native Flatlander (he hails from Manchester, Missouri), so he may not have had a chance to develop a high level of loyalty to  Chief Illiniwek before his visage was banned by the didactic and nefarious NCAA. But after earning a spot in the U.S. Open just four days after claiming the U of I's first-ever NCAA men's individual golf title (Stricker's best finish was ninth), Langley is most likely feeling a rush of school pride. Why not put it on display in a big way?

Tom Watson could win the dang thing. No, seriously, he could! Pebble Beach is not long by major championship standards. It is not a golf course your can overpower. Rather, hitting fairways and greens, and playing smart golf, Watson's fortes, will be paramount. Even more so than usual. If his putter catches fire as it did for 71 holes at Turnberry last year, I think he has a chance to contend – unless ...

Jack Nicklaus could come out of retirement just to kick Watson's butt. What, you think if the Golden Bear asked for a last-minute special exemption the USGA wouldn't give it to him? You just know he's been wanting to give young whippersnapper Tom Watson what-for since that dagger to the heart at the 17th in 1982. After all, Nicklaus won his Pebble Beach U.S. Open (in 1972) at the 17th like a man: by hitting the pin with a 1-iron (a 1-iron!), not with some lucky-a$$ chip shot that probably would have run 15 feet past if it hadn't gone in the hole! Watson's famous shot will get a lot of air play the next few days, and it may be more than Jack can take.

A relatively new course less than an hour from my house could be awarded the 2017 U.S. Open! Actually, this is considered quite likely to happen, as naturally beautiful Erin Hills, in the tiny town of Erin, Wisconsin (outside Milwaukee), is the odds-on favorite for that honor. An announcement is expected on Wednesday, and we'll have more to say about the course – which has a surprisingly complicated history – if and when the Open bid comes to pass.

UPDATE: As Mike comments below, Erin Hills has indeed been selected for the 2017 U.S. Open!

Someone could choke worse than Jean Van de Velde. Wait ... that already happened, a couple days ago at the St. Jude Classic, where Robert Garrigus, a true journeyman, stood on the 18th tee on Sunday with a three-shot lead – and then lost his mind. Perhaps it compromises your brain function when every drop of sweat in your body has leaked into the seat of your pants. (In fairness to Mr. VdV, I've always thought he got something of a bad rap for his Open Championship meltdown. But we'll save that discussion for a future post.)

A 13-year-old could get picked out of the crowd to caddy for a practice round. Wait ... that already happened too! A great story. Kudos to amateur Russell Henley for giving a kid the opportunity of a lifetime.

Steve Stricker could win the U.S. Open! I know, I know ... The Whiffler is a hopelessly biased sucker. But Stricker's been flying below the radar a bit lately, thanks to his recent injury (which he seems to have recovered from). And that can only help him on the big stage of the U.S. Open. Besides, I have to stand by my prediction from earlier this year – which in retrospect was kinda wishy-washy. But I still say that IF Stricker wins a major this year, his best chance would be here. (Image: Stricker with the trophy he won at the 2010 Northern Trust Open. PeterMillar.com)

What a Weekend!

RORY! On the verge of missing his third straight cut in what has been a frustrating year so far, 20-year-old Rory McIlroy on Friday hit a 206-yard 4-iron to six feet on the 7th hole (his 16th) to make eagle – and the cut on the number. Two days later, McIlroy, just two days shy of his 21st birthday, put the finishing touches on a magnificent 10-under 62 (32-20) to claim the Quail Hollow Championship by four strokes over Phil Mickelson. He also set a course record by two full strokes, going 5-under over the final five holes on one of the toughest closing stretches in professional golf. "It surpasses everything by a mile," McIlroy said after the round, which vaulted him into the international spotlight leading into this week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. By claiming what may well prove to be his breakthrough win, young Rory keeps alive the Whiffler's earlier prediction that he "by year's end will be regarded as the favorite to unseat Tiger (or possibly Phil) as the #1 player in the world." (Thanks, Rory.) (Image: Scott Halleran/Getty Images, via Golf.com.)

PHIL Speaking of Phil the Thrill, by finishing second, with a strong performance that likely would merited a win if not for Rory's heroics – and with Tiger ignominiously missing the cut by more than he missed some fairways – Mickelson put himself in position to claim the world #1 ranking for the first time in his career. With a win at the Players Championship, Phil would move into the top spot if Tiger finishes outside the top five. The way he looked on Friday, Tiger is about as likely to finish fifth or better as he is to give Elin a Mother's Day gift subscription to the National Enquirer.

On Taking Risks

A few choice words from some legendary risk takers ...

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt: "Citizenship in a Republic"

Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

(Image: wikimediacommons.com)

UPDATE: Phil Capelle has marked the 100th anniversary of TR's fine speech (which is today!!) with a great post at capelleongolf.com.

"I think it's better to risk my life and to be a has-been than to never have been at all. Even though crippled and busted in half, it's better to have taken a chance to win a victory or suffer a defeat than to live like others do who will never know victory or defeat because they haven't had the guts to try either."

Evel Knievel: Sports Illustrated, September 2, 1974

(Image: Sports Illustrated)

"If you can see the ball you can probably hit it, and if you can hit it you can move it, and if you can move it you might be able to hole it out. So try. It is the trying that is fun."

Arnold Palmer: Sports Illustrated, August 9, 1965

(Image: John Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated, via golf.com)

"A great shot is when you pull it off. A smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it."

Phil Mickelson: post-Masters comments, April 11, 2010

(Image: brisbanetimes.com.au)

Formerly Phony Phil

Everything changed for me in 2003 – late 2003, or perhaps it was 2004. It took a while for the news to come out.

     I had always thought of Phil Mickelson as something of a flashy phony. The turned-up collar. The "aw, shucks" grin and demeanor. I had read once that he put off turning pro for a year because he (and presumably his "people") had calculated he could make more endorsement money by building his amateur stats for another year. Staying in the spotlight for another season as a top amateur (he's the 1990 U.S. Amateur champion, a three-time NCAA champ, and won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson while still at Arizona State) was viewed as a good investment. To me, this moved seemed cynical. It also signaled he must be a spoiled brat to be able afford to do it. (Image: David Cannon/Getty Images via golf.com)

     As a pro, he won plenty of tournaments, but couldn't get over the hump with a major victory. Another reason to think he wasn't all he was cracked up to be. He was becoming rich and famous without becoming great.

     In 2003 he hit the skids. Didn't a win a single tournament, let alone a major, and dropped to 38th in the world, after three years entrenched solidly at #2, behind Tiger. I figured maybe he was done.

     And then I found out that in March of 2003, Phil's wife, Amy, had come very close to dying during the birth of their son, Evan (who also nearly died).

     But what really got to me was ... he didn't tell anybody. At least not publicly. I really don't know why. Maybe he didn't want his family's personal trauma to become an excuse for his poor play. Maybe he felt it was nobody's business. Or maybe, he just couldn't, because the wound was too fresh and too deep. Whatever his reasons were, learning this put Phil, his young family, and his golf career in a very different light.

     By then I had become a husband and father myself, so I was able to imagine more keenly what a scare that must have been, and how the shock waves could have traveled all the way to the golf course. It seemed surprising to learn he was so devoted to his family, but maybe I just hadn't been paying close enough attention. After all, this was the same Phil who carried a beeper during the 1999 U.S. Open and swore he would walk off the course if he received word that Amy had gone into labor – even though he was in contention until Payne Stewart sank his now-famous putt on the 72nd green.

     And now an exciting an emotional Masters win, his third, with Amy in the gallery at the 18th green for the first time since last May, when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment is going well and the prognosis is good, but the ordeal has taken a lot out of her. For Phil to win a major under the circumstances is golf's biggest feel-good story in quite a while. (Image: Harry How/Getty Images, via orlandosentinel.com)

Phil the Thrill

 (Image: Redington/Getty Images via pgatour.com)
By winning his third Green Jacket on Sunday, Phil Mickelson joins an elite group of three-time Masters winners:

Jimmy Demaret (Image: Life.com)

Gary Player (image: sporting-heroes.net)

Sam Snead (Image: rbccanadianopen.com)

Nick Faldo (Image: virginmedia.com)

The players above trail only Tiger Woods (4), Arnold Palmer (4), and Jack Nicklaus (6) in career Masters victories.

Is Phil the New Tiger?

Did anybody else notice that Phil Mickelson seemed to be channeling Tiger Woods this past weekend? Unfortunately, it was not by willing the field into submission with his superhuman focus and otherworldly command of the game. (Photo: Telegraph, UK)

     As expected, golf's interim #1 took center stage last week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, but it was his exploitation of the new groove rule that dominated discussion. Phil was one of the handful of players deciding to flop through a legal loophole allowing the use of certain pre-1990 Ping Eye 2 wedges, even though their grooves do not comform to the new standard. Mickelson dug out one of his old college wedges in San Diego – and was subsequently accused of "cheating" by Scott McCarron. Other players spoke out against Phil's decision, as well, but only McCarron – a three-time winner who is 0-for-3 in cuts made this year – publicly uttered the c-word.

    The debate rages over whether the rule itself (as opposed to the exception) is a bad one (most seem to think it is) and whether players who put their Eye-2s on the ball are violating the spirit of the law. But my concern is with how Phil handled himself when asked about the controversy:

We all have our opinions on the matter, but a line was crossed and I just was publicly slandered. And because of that, I'll have to let other people handle that.

When pressed if those "other people" might be his legal team, Mickelson declined to say. That's an understandable response. It's safe. But it strikes me that he was being "handled." What I would rather have heard is something along the lines of, "Who cares what Scott McCarron thinks? I'm following the rules, my conscience is clear, next question." Better still, he could have laughed it off, perhaps saying something that might have drawn a little heat, akin to his "Tiger doesn't like that I can fly it past him now" comment from a few years ago. How about: "If Scott McCarron has a problem with me he can talk to me about it this weekend. Oh, wait ...."