Mickelson ends majors drought at the Masters
Mickelson makes fives birdies on back nine
As "feel-good" moments go, it would have be hard to top yesterday's finish at the Masters. Phil Mickelson, who if nothing else demonstrated the value of perserverence, finally won his major. Much to the crowd's delight, Mickelson's 18-foot birdie putt on 18 lifted the weight of an entire career of coming up just-THAT-close off his shoulders.
Even Susan, who cares not a whit about golf, stopped what she was doing to watch Mickelson's championship-clinching putt. It was one of those moments that transcends all sports- one putt, one chance. Make it, and your life changes forever. Miss it and...well, at worst Mickelson and Ernie Els would have gone to a playoff, but it was tough to miss the drama inherent in the moment.
I could only dream of playing a round of golf like Mickelson did yesterday afternoon. Never mind doing it in front of thousands of people. Never mind putting on heavily-contoured, lightning-fast greens. Never mind the pressure, which Mickelson clearly seemed to be relishing. I think what I enjoyed about watching yesterday's final round was the look of absolute joy that Mickelson had
on his face for most of the round. Clearly, he was having the time of his life, and the crowd fed off that.
As CBS's Jim Nantz said after Mickelson sank his birdie putt, "The game of golf doesn't get any better than this!" Indeed. Imagine winning the Masters with a birdie putt on the 72nd hole after one of the best back nines in the storied tournament's history. We should all have a moment like that in our lives.
