Lefty Goes Green

So two things were certain today. I was going to watch the Masters for five straight hours, and I was going to root on Tiger to shut everyone up. But a funny thing happened on the way to Amen Corner. I found myself not really caring what Tiger was doing. The more I watched them trudge along Augusta National, the more I found myself pulling for Phil Mickelson. Let me be the first to say, I am not a huge fan of Lefty. I never really cheer for him and I usually find it pretty funny when he melts down at the big tourneys. But today, instead of hoping for him to blow up, I found myself clenching my teeth and praying for him to hang on. The guy had been through so much in the past year that you just wanted the breaks to go his way today. I found myself wondering why I was cheering for Tiger in the first place. Here is Mickelson, a guy who has spent his whole career staring at Eldrick's backside atop the leaderboard. He's a good guy, He's the guy we thought Tiger was. Tiger is the guy who has to try to be polite now, Phil is the guy who just can't help it. Tiger is trying to harness his temper, Phil never had one. Tiger is trying to be faithful, Phil always has been... at least we think so. Tiger's life is screwed up and it's all his fault, Phil's life is screwed up through no fault of his own, (his wife was diagnosed with cancer for those who are unaware). Tiger may have quieted a few doubters, but it was just too soon for him to shut everyone up. And the more I watched Mickelson play, the more I knew deep down that Tiger didn't deserve it. By about the third hole of the day, Mickelson had won me over. I pulled for him all day. He needed it more, plain and simple. Tiger will get his wins, but Phil deserved this one more. I have to be honest with you, I felt better about myself cheering for the big lefty. It felt like a hero/villain movie and Phil was Superman. He made big putts, sprayed some horrible drives, and then fixed them with unbelievable saves. His shot on 13 from the pines, between two trees, and stuck about ten feet from the hole defined his round, the tournament, and maybe his career, it was incredible. In the back of my head was the way he tends to lose it under pressure, but not today. He kept sticking approach shots and burying putts. The fact that Mickelson has spent much of his golf career losing to Tiger made this the perfect example of the nice guy not finishing last. He ended the day by sinking a birdie putt on 18 and hugging his wife, and if it didn't choke you up a little something is wrong. Today, Phil won the green jacket by three strokes, but if there was a leaderboard for "goosebumps produced" or "most people pulling for you" he would have won by a few dozen.