The agony of rooting for Phil Mickelson
Angel Cabrera won the Masters yesterday. And to be honest, I like Angel Cabrera. I like that he looks like he's downed a few pints in his day. I like that he smokes. (Because not every athlete should be a fitness freak.) I like it that he somehow managed to hit a tree on the 18th hole, growl like a bear in dismay, and then make a miraculous par to stay alive in a playoff. And let's be honest, Kenny Perry gave away the Masters. Up two shots with two holes to play, all he needed was one par and he couldn't close the deal. To see his kids and his wife behind the green, dying with every bungled chip or wayward iron shot, was heartbreaking.
But when I think about this Masters -- if I ever really think about it again, I guess -- I'm going to think about Phil Mickelson. Good lord, is it frustrating being a Mickelson fan sometimes. I've actually enjoyed defending him over the years. I love watching athletes who don't have an air of aloofness about them. I love that he hugs his wife and his kids after wins. I kind of even like it that he's a little insecure, because frankly, I think if I were the F. Scott Fitzgerald to Tiger's Ernest Hemingway, I'd probably be a little needy too.
I say that in part because the 2004 Masters -- Mickelson's first major -- is like The Great Gatsby to me. I've never been more in awe, more excited, about golf than I was when Phil shot 31 on the back nine to beat Ernie Els. That, to me, was perfection.
The problem is Fitzgerald never wrote another novel as good as Gatsby. He frittered away his talents and Hemingway, who once deeply respected Fitzgerald, came to think of him as a bit of a wimp and a fool. I feel like Tiger looks at Phil that way sometimes, when he even looks at him at all, annoyed he's even mentioned in the same breath as someone who is such a headcase.
This year's tournament was a perfect example of just how infuriating it can be to watch Mickelson's talent wrestle with his head. He made six birdies on the front nine yesterday. On a day when the front nine was playing fairly difficult, he tied a record for the lowest nine-hole score ever at Augusta. But what's so maddening about Mickelson is that he seems to do that just so he can yank the rug out from underneath me. Realistically, he wasn't going to win the tournament yesterday unless he played an insanely good round. Even early on, I was just happy he was finally playing well when paired with Tiger. But dang it if he didn't have me briefly believing he just might pull it off as he made the turn.
And that's what's so frustrating. Woods couldn't put himself in real contention because he wasn't hitting great iron shots, and it left him a number of putts that were makeable but not easy birdie opportunities. Mickelson, on the other hand, was firing at flags and putting the ball right where he wanted to. And then slapping four footers past the hole like he was putting with a hockey stick. When he dropped inside five feet on No. 15, giving himself a perfect opportunity for eagle, my friend Del shot me a text message:
Tell me you're watching. Wow. Will Phil choke?
And of course he did. The ball didn't even graze the cup.
It's like it is preordained, Del said in another text 30 seconds later.
I love watching him play for reasons I can't really explain. Maybe it's because I'm easily frustrated by the fawning media coverage Tiger constantly receives, and he is, for better or worse, Tiger's most consistent rival. But man, does he make it tough sometimes.
Before he died, Fitzgerald scribbled down a line in a novel, a book he never finished, that ended up becoming perhaps the most quoted thing he ever wrote: There are no second acts in American lives.
It's a silly line, in many respects. And Fitzgerald probably didn't even believe it. Of course there are second acts. Phil Mickelson keeps proving that in every major in which he blazes his way into contention. The sad thing is, I feel like I always know how the show is going to end. Phil will trip and fall, usually face first into the orchestra pit. I buy tickets for the next show regardless.
in Today's Special
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Comments
You only have two errors in your first 5 sentences: (1) Cabrera quite smoking since the US Open at Oakmont and (2) he hit the tree on the first playoff hole -- the ensuing par putt on 18 was to stay alive in the playoff, not get into it.
As far as Phil, the vast majority of "patrons" were following his pairing instead of the leaders, proving once and for all that he and Tiger are clearly the top golfers of this generation. Els, Garcia, Harrington, Singh, Goosen...they have had flashes but none of them have Mickelson's talent or flair for the dramatic. Yes the pushed eagle putt on 15 was painful but it wouldn't have even been worth anything without the 30 on the front nine.
Posted by: Bernie | April 13, 2009 6:33 AM
Mickelson and Woods were very exciting to watch, and I don't watch much golf. They both folded like cheap suits. Watching Tiger fold after comming back to contend is good golf. It makes the world right again. But the story is the old guy who just lost it on the 17th and 18th, after Mickelson and Tiger emploded, and blew the tournament. Boy I feel sorry for him. He played great til the very end. Then pufff! But as far as golf goes it was very entertaining.
Posted by: Rich | April 13, 2009 8:03 AM
"I kind of even like it that he's a little insecure, because frankly, I think if I were the F. Scott Fitzgerald to Tiger's Ernest Hemingway, I'd probably be a little needy to."
Are there any editors at the Baltimore Sun? The word is TOO not TO at the end of that sentence. For god sake this is supposed to be a professional newspaper.
Posted by: sean | April 13, 2009 9:40 AM
Gentlemen, thanks for pointing out those errors. Clearly I was a little buzzed on Easter communion wine last night when trying to scratch together some thoughts.
Posted by: Kevin Van Vakenburg | April 13, 2009 9:57 AM
Fitzgerald wrote Tender is the Night after Gatsby, which while perhaps not as good as Gatsby, is still a classic of American literature. He also wrote The Crack Up after Gatsby, which is marvel of personal essay writing.
Hemingway never treated anyone with much respect after he spent a little time with them--sort of a personal defense mechanism.
Fitzgerald died while working on what would probably be a novel just as good as his masterpiece. Hemingway killed himself after losing the ability to write (so he thought).
I don't know how your writer metaphors will change knowing this information. Just thought I would sharpen them a little for you.
Posted by: Michael DuBose | April 13, 2009 9:57 AM
Good article and great tournament. Angel played a great tournament. It was heartbreaking for Kenny and also Chad. The media sadly almost ignored the great Masters for Shingo. Great job by Merrick and Stricker. Phil? Yes it was frustrating but he always goes for it. Phil's front nine was insane. Phil is always entertaining and the patrons always get their money's worth.
Posted by: Freddie | April 13, 2009 11:29 AM
I think I finally figured out why I stick with Phil and root for him in every event. I'm a Cub fan for over 70 years and now not only do the Cubs break my heart year after year, Phil who I've adopted as a grandchild keeps doing it too.
I must add, Phil is more entertaining and has given me lots of happy moments winning so many golf matches. And he just seems like a really good person--amiable and smiling and not cocky!
Posted by: Betty Woj. | April 13, 2009 12:31 PM
Really enjoyed your article, perhaps because it expressed my feelings of Phil.
Unfortunately most of the press root for Woods and seem completly unaware that Phil has a loyal following as large as TW's.
PS Has anyone ever heard Phil cursing in front of a gallery with children in it, someone else does with impunity.
Posted by: Tony D | April 13, 2009 1:16 PM
Wow. I love to hear guys whine about what a choker Phil is - the guy who, despite playing during the era of Tiger, is 12th on the all time PGA victories list with 36. More than Lee Travino, Raymond Floyd, Greg Norman ... more than Davis Love, Ben Crenshaw - more than Tom Kite and Mark O'Meara combined.
I loved when he passed Johnny Miller at 25 wins a few years back, because Johnny had to throttle back on the criticism.
I know why you root for Phil. It's because you don't know what you're going to get. Because despite his hall of fame credentials, he is still an underdog.
Rooting for Tiger is like rooting for the hero in an old cowboy or boxer movie. The plot lines are tried and true. He might get in a little trouble, but he is going to win in the end.
And as we watch Phil, fascinated, hoping against hope that he will pull the right club, hoping that he gets it up and down from the moon or the ocean or wherever he hit his tee shot, occasionally it all goes right, and the ball stays dry, and away from trees and scrub brush. And he finishes it off the way we always want him to.
Heck, if he did every time ... we'd be bored.
Posted by: Bob Mater | April 13, 2009 2:40 PM
Kev
You and I are the same person. I experienced very precisely the same thing on Sunday that you did watching Phil come so close and then miss a couple of putts that he would have made in a coma during a practice round.
This was a superb editorial. Like you, I AM glad that, at the very least, he finished one stroke under Tiger. It was cool seeing the two of them paired off.
Phil is a lot of fun to watch but also frequently infuriating.
Posted by: Drew Johnson | April 13, 2009 8:57 PM
I think Mickelson brings this all on himself. Clearly he's at his best when he's just busting it as hard as he can and going for stuff. You know, he'll win with two drivers in the bag at Augusta, then he won't play with one @ Torrey last year, the longest Open course in history. Shoulda left the big dog alone at Winged Foot's 72nd, not for an entire major. Deep down, I think he's one of these guys that gets his jollies off of experimenting and going against the grain.
Posted by: Greg | April 14, 2009 1:49 AM
Great entry. One thing interesting thing about the Fitzgerald - Hemingway comparison though - despite Hemingway's denigration, and despite the fact that for much of the century Hemingway was regarded as the American novelist, his reputation has faded, and now there is no doubt that Fitzgerald is considered the better (if less prolific) writer. Wouldn't it be interesting if that fate befell Tiger / Phil ?
Posted by: Brian Sullivan | April 15, 2009 8:41 PM