What I Love About the Masters... And Phil Mickelson

The first weekend in April brings with it one of my favorite rites of spring.  I always look forward to watching the Masters Golf Tournament.  It conjures up happy memories of great times spent with my Dad.  Neither one of us were worth a flip playing the game.  But we sure did enjoy watching it together.  All golf fans know that the Masters is special.  It is the first “major” tournament of the year and is made so enchanting with the flowering dogwoods and azaleas that define Augusta National Golf Club.  On occasion, Dad and I would even place a bet on the winner.  He’s gone now and I miss him every day.  But each year when I’m watching the Masters, I’m sure he is too… from better seats than mine. 

I consider golf to be the last bastion of civility in sports.  You don’t see a bunch of thugs covered in tattoos playing in the PGA.  When a golfer is about to make a shot, the gallery extends him the courtesy of quiet as he addresses the ball and swings his club.  After a player makes a long putt, you don’t see him strutting around the green like a mating ape on steroids.  No one spikes a golf ball.

Perhaps it is the traditions of golf that appeal to me.  It seems that fans and players alike respect the customs and heritage of this game that began in the fifteenth century on that most unwelcoming landscape of the eastern coast of Scotland.   Golf has given us such symbols as the Green Jacket, the Claret Jug, and the Swilcan Bridge on the Old Course at St. Andrews.  It has given us such heroes as Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead.

It was most fitting that this year’s Masters got underway when Billy Payne, President of the Augusta National Golf Club started the first threesome on Thursday morning.  It included Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus, gentlemen and champions all.   (If you don’t recognize those names, why in the hell have you read this far?)  No one was surprised to see that all three found the fairway with their drives.

There were many in the gallery who were there to watch, and appreciate this memorable group begin their round and start the tournament.   It was golf history.  Another Masters had begun.  I could once again look forward to four days of golfing competition at its very best.  Thanks to modern technology (the wide screen HDTV in my “man cave,”) I was there.  The beauty of this historic course, the intense competition, and the expectation of a tight finish going right down to the final hole… that’s what I love about the Masters.

 It took me a while to become a fan of Phil Mickelson.  Although he had numerous PGA tour wins and an incredible college/amateur background, I remember doubting that “Leftie” would ever win a big one, a “major.”  It seemed that when a big title was on the line, he was sure to choke.  Then the break came in the 2004 Masters when he sank a long birdie putt on 18 to win a back and forth battle with Ernie Els.  Phil had broken through. 

In 2010, Mickelson again won the Masters.  His approach shot on 13 was one that I will never forget.  His ball was situated squarely behind a pine tree with about 80 yards to the green.  What I won’t forget is that the ball he hit must have made two, yes, two, right hand turns to get around the tree and drop within putting distance of the pin.  (If you missed it then, watch for it in replays of past shots made.  You’ll see it.)

But, putting golf aside, Phil Mickelson demonstrates a sense of priorities that is often lost with successful athletes.  He’s a devoted husband and father.  When he won the Masters in 2010, it came after a yearlong battle his beloved wife Amy fought with breast cancer.  At the same time, his mother was also fighting cancer.  CBS’s Jim Nance called Phil’s Masters victory a “win for the family.”  The tearful reunion of Phil and Amy on the 18^th green would attest to that.  We were all Mickelson fans that day.

But what do I love about Phil Mickelson?   On Thursday morning when the tournament began with Billy Payne calling the threesome of Palmer, Player and Nicklaus, one of the faces in the gallery was that of Phil Mickelson.  He was there at the first tee over six hours before he was scheduled to tee off himself.  He was there like the rest, to see three legends of the game, his game, begin an historic round of golf.

Phil Mickelson appreciates the history and the traditions of golf.  It may be his livelihood, but he appreciates those things that aren’t spelled out on the leader board.  He appreciates that it is still a sport where gentlemen compete with courtesy and decorum.  And, civility.

That’s what I love about the Masters… and Phil Mickelson.