As an avid golfer, I have learned to respect the game and study the history of it. Every year during the first couple weeks of April the golf world stands still, as the Masters has arrived. The Masters is the First of Four Major Championships and represents as the measuring stick of a golfers career. The majors are considered the hardest to win because only the top 50 to 100 or so golfers are allowed in; this ensures that the best are playing against the best. The Masters tournament is more than any other tournament, because in 2004 The Masters was the tournament that started my golf obsession.
This years Masters brought more of the pre-game excitement, it showed the return of Tiger Woods after a 5 or so month layoff, Phil Mickelson bidding for another Win after a great 2009 and some of the Veteran golfers such as Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Freddy Couples playing some great golf, all winning this year. With all this excitement added on top of the regular hype; this years Masters lived up to one of the Greatest Masters I have ever seen. The Masters separates itself from other golf Majors, because its always played at the same location every year and because of that it generates rich history that people can compare from year to year.
This years Masters had all the Drama of an Epic movie as the best golfers competed to be immortalized in the “Green Jacket’ and to have their name in the history books. The first two rounds had 2 Euros playing stellar golf and 2 past champions proving they can hang with their younger counter-parts. As Moving Day started the game’s two biggest stars looked to move up the leader board, fortunately for us Phil Mickelson gave a 3 run stretch of EAGLE/EAGLE/BIRDIE as only the 3rd person in Masters History to perform that accomplishment. Yet Phil was still waiting to give us the “THE SHOT.” The final day of the Masters doesn’t start at the 1st hole, but on the 9th hole like the famous line goes “the tournament doesn’t start until the back nine starts.” And for this year this line was true. Lee Westwood and KJ Choi was ahead when Phil Mickelson stood 207 yards out on the 13th hole with his ball rested on pine needles and between trees. With a brief conversation with one of his best friend and caddie “BONES” he gave every sports fan “THE SHOT” that only PHIL the THRILL can attempt. Phil off of pine needles hit his shot 207 yards between two trees, over a creek and to land on a fast/slopping green to 5 feet as one of the greatest shots ever hit in Masters History. This shot seemed to give Phil the momentum to past Lee/KJ and give Phil a 3 stroke victory and his 4th Major Tournament victory.
Golf is deemed an individual sport, one player, one ball and one shot at a time, but Phil showed that it’s not all about him. In a time where golf needs a hero’s, Phil proved that golf can be more than an individual sport, as he finished he gave his caddie and long time friend “Bones” a hug, then not knowing if his wife would be waiting for him on the 18th green due to her fight with breast cancer he walked up to see his wife and kids and gave his wife an emotional hug. During his press conference the very first thing he did was thank his team, for his success, he then continued to elaborate that this golf tournament and winning it gave his family the ability to forget the troubles of their long time fight with cancer. To me this shows character, for a man who won one of the biggest tournaments in his life, to dedicate and play his heart out to win this not for himself, but for his family.
This years Masters brought more of the pre-game excitement, it showed the return of Tiger Woods after a 5 or so month layoff, Phil Mickelson bidding for another Win after a great 2009 and some of the Veteran golfers such as Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Freddy Couples playing some great golf, all winning this year. With all this excitement added on top of the regular hype; this years Masters lived up to one of the Greatest Masters I have ever seen. The Masters separates itself from other golf Majors, because its always played at the same location every year and because of that it generates rich history that people can compare from year to year.
This years Masters had all the Drama of an Epic movie as the best golfers competed to be immortalized in the “Green Jacket’ and to have their name in the history books. The first two rounds had 2 Euros playing stellar golf and 2 past champions proving they can hang with their younger counter-parts. As Moving Day started the game’s two biggest stars looked to move up the leader board, fortunately for us Phil Mickelson gave a 3 run stretch of EAGLE/EAGLE/BIRDIE as only the 3rd person in Masters History to perform that accomplishment. Yet Phil was still waiting to give us the “THE SHOT.” The final day of the Masters doesn’t start at the 1st hole, but on the 9th hole like the famous line goes “the tournament doesn’t start until the back nine starts.” And for this year this line was true. Lee Westwood and KJ Choi was ahead when Phil Mickelson stood 207 yards out on the 13th hole with his ball rested on pine needles and between trees. With a brief conversation with one of his best friend and caddie “BONES” he gave every sports fan “THE SHOT” that only PHIL the THRILL can attempt. Phil off of pine needles hit his shot 207 yards between two trees, over a creek and to land on a fast/slopping green to 5 feet as one of the greatest shots ever hit in Masters History. This shot seemed to give Phil the momentum to past Lee/KJ and give Phil a 3 stroke victory and his 4th Major Tournament victory.
Golf is deemed an individual sport, one player, one ball and one shot at a time, but Phil showed that it’s not all about him. In a time where golf needs a hero’s, Phil proved that golf can be more than an individual sport, as he finished he gave his caddie and long time friend “Bones” a hug, then not knowing if his wife would be waiting for him on the 18th green due to her fight with breast cancer he walked up to see his wife and kids and gave his wife an emotional hug. During his press conference the very first thing he did was thank his team, for his success, he then continued to elaborate that this golf tournament and winning it gave his family the ability to forget the troubles of their long time fight with cancer. To me this shows character, for a man who won one of the biggest tournaments in his life, to dedicate and play his heart out to win this not for himself, but for his family.
from golfchannel:
“In a time when our biggest star shows his dark side,
the Masters showed that at the right time, the right place,
the right man won.”
from Phil:
“A great shot is when you pull it off,
a smart shot is when you don’t have the guts to try it!”
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