Phil Mickelson
The Augusta Masters is only through invitation and available to only the best golfers in the world and it is an event where even Tiger Woods need to apply.
In the 2010 Masters, when Phil Mickelson was faced with some trees in front and with only about 3 feet of space away with the ball sitting on pine needles which means it is very hard to judge and then finally peeking through the trees you can see that you are some 207 yards away. What would you do? Everybody else would just chip the ball and lay it up for the next shot. Face with such an obstacle, all golfers including top pros will feel weak at such a daunting task at hand. At the top level in this situation, a two-shot lead doesn't mean much really. Tiger's right behind, Lee Westwood won't go away and is sticking close and Anthony Kim is doing everything right.
At this point, what was Phil Mickelson thinking? 5 or 6 iron. If a golf ball sits on pine needles or something like this, floating or not on a solid fairway, it makes ball striking complicated as it may come out slower, higher, etc. Mission impossible? Phil took up a 6 iron and hit that audacious shot. Only a rare few are so courageous, so in control of his game could do something so wicked. Result: the ball landed four feet from the flag stick. He missed the putt to end with a birdie. Only truly great players pull off shots like that at the perfect time. Awesome!
Around the green and on them, Phil was Masterclass and has no peers. This was the guy helping his mum and wife fight breast cancer. He was out of the game for an enforced period to take care of family. Tiger, away from family was out for an enforced period because of breasts...ok never mind just say other breast issues. Phil Mickelson is well loved because whenever you see him walking on the fairways to the greens after taking his shots, he never failed to acknowledge the crowd. A wave of his hand, a nod of his head, a touch of his cap, a smile. When he finished off the event, he is usually surrounded by admirers and Lefty would tell these autograph hunters to wait for him as he needed to attend a press conference. Sure enough, he would return and spend time signing autographs for all and sunder. Tiger? He would be single-mindedly focus as he walks to the green staring straight without acknowledging the spectators. Maybe that way, he can keep his focus so well without being distracted so he could sink his putt and win. Maybe that is why Mickelson has won less otherwise he could have won more and now we know why Tiger does not hang around signing autographs for morons when he has waitresses and club mamas waiting for him.
How do you describe Phil's game? When you watch Phil Mickelson on TV walking he does not look that tall while slimmer golfers like Tiger looks quite tall. The fact is Phil stands at 6 ft. 3 in. while Tiger is 6 ft.1in. In soccer, we would have called him Big Phil. For the same reason Ernie Els at 6 ft. 3 in. is called The Big Easy because he is big and he has an easy swing. Mickelson plays Callaway and records birdies on Par 3s 17% of the time. Dossier on Phil's game: "Massively long but sometimes wayward. Spectacular from 100 yards especially with the lob shot. Pure magic with the putter." To show you how good he is as a shot maker, watch the following even if you are a non-golfer:
The Famous Backward Shot:
Amazing Chip:
Another Backward Flip:
Bunker:
Flop Shot, He's The World's Best:
This Is The Shot I Described Earlier @ The Masters:
I am a big fan of Phil Mickelson. I know that I frequently advocate defensive golf by advising golfers to go for the lay up which saves strokes but I always had this adventurous streak in me in going for broke and I am learning how to contain myself by learning when is the time to do it. Although I advocate for golfers who are less proficient to lay up especially for par 5, I am less tolerant of better golfers who does not go for for the attack and instead lay up around the fringe just to preserve a lead but I'm sure for those of you who saw Phil doing it on TV, you must have been shouting out: "Don't do that Phil, are you a moron?" Then he pulled it off. Who says golf is not exciting?
Although he had transgressed, I felt sorry for Tiger for probably having to answer non-golf questions. All you needed was for a reporter to ask, "hey Tiger how's your sex life?" All hell will break loose. Sometimes, in life when a person hits rock bottom, it helps them to feel more warm, respectful and ultimately humble. I heard he still used the four letter word but this time it starts with an "S". I don't really care as he was telling himself that he sucks (Tiger, you suck) but he did also said something like "Goddxxxit!" but there are others out there who does. Tiger has been playing so badly these days that if he were to join us for a foursome on match play he might lose his skins.
Or was it that Phil is just a phony. Someone who is good in working the crowd pretending well with his smiles and all. Tiger and Mickelson are each other's nemesis. It hurts Tiger more than just losing the Masters. Surely his heart would have stirred when he saw Phil embracing his family. But still, I hope Tiger would be back. Golf needs him and all these things can hopefully help to mend Tiger.
Recently, Phil failed to dislodge Tiger as the number one. In soccer parlance, Tiger Woods is like Germany and Phil Mickelson is like Lionel Messi. As I release this article, Phil has just been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, a condition that caused stiffness and pain. Alright, I'm out of here, don't want to spend too much time on the keyboard.
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