PhillyMick Revisits 13th:
Uh, Been There, Done That – The Masters Tournament
AUGUSTA, Ga. – This has to be one of those “When last seen …” tales. So be it.When last seen, Phil Mickelson was stuck behind a tree at Augusta National’s 13th, clearly reduced to having to punch out into the fairway to set up a short wedge to the front of the green, jutting out dangerously into the fronting stream, much like a crocodile’s snout, and in golf terms, just as dangerous. It was a compound problem: the confining tree, the ball sitting on a slippery bed of pine needles, the dangling noose of that pin position, and the little promontory of the green. A golfer would not be so foolish as to try to go for the green under these circumstances. Especially considering the fact that he was leading the Masters at this point. But yes, PhillyMick is that foolish.
When next seen, Mickelson was in the interview chair Wednesday at Augusta National, doing the defending champion’s interview for this Masters
“It was a 6-iron, for crying out loud,” Mickelson was pooh-poohing. “It wasn’t like I’m hitting a 3-wood there. I had a huge margin of error.”
Sure. A margin running from “little” to “next to none.” That little creek is full of the bones of Masters golfers who had the impudence to try for that green under anything less than ideal circumstances. It seemed ideal to Mickelson that he was facing a shot only a left-hander could hit from behind that tree. As for the shot itself – well, all the ball had to do was fly over that little creek and the gully it ran in, and stop on that little nose of a green. He did, after all, have a few yards to mess with. He stuck that ball about four feet from the stick. He missed that little eagle putt, but he did tap in for the birdie, on his way to his third Masters victory.
It did seem that his caddie, Bones Mackay, was consulting with him, maybe nervously. Was Bones perhaps trying to talk him out of that shot that time?
“You mean those three times?” Mickelson said. “Well, I said to him then, there’s a point in every tournament where you have to take on some risk … that’s a hole you have to take advantage of if you’re going to win this tournament.”
Arnie Palmer did, and they put up a plaque in his honor. Billy Joe Patton did, trying to become the first amateur to win the Masters. R.I.P., Billy Joe.
Now PhillyMick comes to the 2011 Masters with his slim new self, a fresh victory from the Shell Houston Open, a new resolve, a lighter heart, with Amy doing so much better, and two drivers. No real secrets there.
“Because it’s going to be warm, I won’t kneed a 3-iron or hybrid, so the longest iron I’ll have is a 4-iron,” he said, explaining the two drivers. “They both draw and fade the same. That’s not the purpose of it. I have an inch longer shaft and a different loft on one. It just goes about 15, 20 yards farther.”
So he’s calibrated the course to the point where he can use a long drive and a longer drive. But if the weather turns cool, he can sit out one driver and put the 3-iron back in.
But sheer power at Augusta is an overrated commodity, he said. “You don’t have to be a big hitter to win here,” he said. The secret: “You have to play away from your weaknesses, to your strengths … which needs to be wedge play to take advantage of the par-fives, and miss the par-fours in spots where you can take advantage of your short game.”
This was the new PhillyMick in other ways. For one thing, his odd form of arthritis seems to be under control, thanks to his medication. For another, he’s ranked ahead of Tiger Woods for the first time since the week of the 1997 Masters, when he was 10th and Woods 17th. Mickelson’s Houston Open win lifted him to No. 3, behind Germany’s Martin Kaymer (1) and England’s Lee Westwood (2). Woods dropped to No. 7. And does it mean anything to go ahead of Woods?
“It would really mean a lot,” Mickelson said, “if he was No. 1 at the time I passed him.”
PhillyMick, of course, will be forever linked to Augusta’s 13th. He’s been to Augusta three times before this week. Did he try that shot again? He gave a little grin.
“I don’t see the point,” PhillyMick said. “I’ve already done that.”
Return to Tournament Notebook archives