It's been a year now since pro golfer Phil Mickelson's 6 iron off the pine straw at last year's Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia but I'm still talking about it. One of the greatest pressure/crazy golf shots ever hit in professional golf. So, just in case you forgot, let me reset the stage.
Two time Master's winner, Phil, just birdies the devilish short par 3 12th hole in Amen Corner on Sunday, the final round, to take the lead for the first time all week. On the 13th tee, a sharp and short dogleg left par 5, Phil, a lefty and now leading The Masters, pulls his tee shot into the trees on the right. At first glimpse, Phil is "in jail" with his errant ball resting on loosely-packed pine straw with two large pines directly in front of him. Apparently, his path to the green is blocked and his next shot looks like an obvious lay up short of Rae's Creek and the green. But this is Phil "the thrill", he never takes his foot off the gas pedal...ever. As his caddy/best friend/alter-ego Bones Mackay says of Phil, "He plays completely without fear. He's absolutely convinced he can pull off every shot."
After conferring briefly with Bones, Phil sees the shot before he hits it kinda like Cole in the movie The Sixth Sense who "sees dead people" that nobody else can see. The media and fans are apoplectic at Phil's decision to go for it.
His Calloway Tour i(z) ball is 207 yards to the flag on the 13th green and has 187 yards to carry the fronting "heart breaker" Rae's Creek. With the ball and stance heavily influenced by pine needles and two large pines, Phil takes dead aim. Before he takes his final stance, Bones after hearing that KJ Choi, one of the leaders at the time, just bogeyed the 13th hole, Bones asks Phil, "you're now 2 up, still want to go for it?" Pure Phil responds, "I'm absolutely going for it now watch this shot." The golf world gasps.
Phil hits the shot "pure." Bones with his eyes closed heard it was "pure." His follow-through takes out a bark chunk of the pine tree in front of him. The ball rockets towards the green on a laser line. Hits the green on a fly and the ball rolls to within 4 feet of the cup...and below the hole. Incredible! Magical!! He's now putting for his third eagle of the week on one golf hole. That's exceptional.
Almost anticlimactically, Phil misses the eagle putt of 4 feet and settles for birdie. But the tournament is over because of that courageous crazy shot on #13. Phil finishes the next 5 holes with two more birdies to win the tournament by 3 shots over Englishman, Lee Westwood. Amy, Phil's cancer surviving-wife, waits and embraces her man off the 18th green and 72nd hole. They cry. We all cry watching.
Afterwards in the media tent, the omniscient media asked Phil, "why did you go for it on #13, it was such a risky shot, why not lay-up?" Without blinking Phil responded, "A great shot is when you pull it off. A smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it. I needed a great shot to win the tournament not a safe one."
Here's to you Phil, hope your psoriatic arthritis doesn't flare up and you again thrill us all. Your daring is what makes us all watch. Go get 'em Lefty.
Enjoy the greatest show on grass this week.
Postscript: By the way, Phil just finished his tune-up for The Masters by winning the Shell Open in Texas this weekend for his 39th win on Tour.
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