Tiger Woods is the best male golfer in the world. He
is the only man in history to win 10 major golf titles
before the age of 30. Having said, we must note that
heıs now 0 for 30!
Phil Mickelson, who failed to win a major in his
first 42 tournaments, took on the changes at famed
Augusta National and beat the worldıs best down the
stretch to capture his second Masters title with a
final-round 69.
Seven under par was the number Mickelson posted, two
shots better than South African Tim Clark and three
shots better than Woods, Retief Goosen, Chad Campbell,
Fred Couples, V.J Singh and Jose Maria Olazabal, all of
whom finished tied for third at -4.
Mickelson has gone to a unique plan that he has made
work. He uses two drivers, one to hit a hook and the
other for control shots. Last week at the Bell South
Classic, Mickelson won by 13 shots. The last player to
win a PGA Tour event by double digits before Mickelson?
Tiger Woods! He won the Masters in 1997 by 12 and the
2000 United States Open by 15 shots.
Mickelson has now won back-to-back majors, and that
is impressive. He won last yearıs PGA Championship to
finish the year, and he picks up where he left off by
winning a duel at Augusta. Is Mickelson now Tigerıs
number-one rival? Yes!
He has passed Singh, who took the number-one ranking
away from Woods two years ago. Singh has not won since
last August. As you know, itıs all about majors for
Tiger; he has Jack Nicklausı record 18 major wins in
his sights, and if he stays healthy you would think he
will break the record.
But for now heıs 0 for 30
thatıs 30 years of age. He turned 30 in December, and
he is now in his prime. Mickelson is 35, and heıs won
three of the last nine majors and two in a row. Right
now the player of the year is Mickelson, but itıs only
April, with the U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA
Championship still to come. We will see if Mickelson can
keep his game in high gear.
Woods was not himself mentally. His father Earl has
been hospitalized in California and is quite ill.
Clearly, Tiger may have been trying too hard to win his
fifth Masters for his father. Tiger hit three balls in
the water and three-putted seven greens over the four
days. That is not the way Tiger usually plays in majors.
On Sunday he had two great chances at eagles on the
par five 13th and 15th; he missed both. He also missed a
great chance to birdie the par three 12th hole, and
after mounting a late charge down the stretch with
back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16, he three-putted 17
from 10 feet. Woods has never won a major by coming from
behind on Sunday in his brilliant career.
Does Tiger need to win a major by coming from behind
to be regarded as the best ever? I donıt think so, but
send me an email (see contact info below) and let me
know what you think.
Mickelson did what Tiger usually does
