A few thoughts on the greatest single day in sports behind the Super Bowl:
- I've always rooted for Phil Mickelson. Not in that fanboi kind of way, but quietly, because he's always been the little brother. Yes, he had won two green jackets already, and a few other majors, but you have to feel for the guy after all of his colossal late failures in those events.
Add the fact that he's coming off one of the hardest years in his life - with his wife and mother both diagnosed with breast cancer - and it makes for a great story. He looked like he was having fun out there. His shot on No. 13, when the world was collectively saying, "No Phil, don't do it!", he stuck to his guns, as he always does, and delivered the second most memorable shot I can remember seeing (behind Tiger Woods on No. 16 at the Masters in 2005).
Even better than Phil's performance on Sunday, which included no bogeys, Saturday's effort was even better. To have an eagle-eagle-birdie run like he did (that lowered his score from 7 under to 12 under and into the lead) was just remarkable.
- Speaking of Woods, I know the scrutiny surrounding the world's top-ranked golfer isn't going to end anytime soon, but it should. It's getting old. I understand that people don't like him for what he did, but those are the people who A) Don't watch or appreciate golf or B) Didn't like him before and now have a legitimate reason to hate him.
But to do what he did (a fourth-place finish) this past week is astounding. He hadn't played a competitive round of golf since early November, and he showed why he's ranked No. 1.
One more thing, when Woods said people were making too much of his emotional outbursts, he was spot on. I too played golf on Sunday, and you should have heard me when I three-putted on three straight holes. It's a frustrating game. But it's a gentlemen's game, detractors will say. So is soccer, although you'd never know it.
If you don't want to hear him spew expletives on live television, don't get the microphones so close.
- Anthony Kim is going to be a force to be reckoned with in coming years. Unlike Sergio Garcia, who never lived up his potential or hype, Kim is coming on strong. His putter was magical on the back nine on Sunday.
- CBS was laughing all the way to the bank this past week. On top of the Masters, which had viewers glued to their TVs throughout the weekend, the network also had the NCAA tournament final, which was one of the best I can remember.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I have to admit, even though I'm not a golf fan, I watched quite a bit of the Masters on Sunday (for me, that means an hour or so). And, as is often the case, I had a contrarian rooting interest.
I wanted Tiger to win, for two reasons:
1. What he does in his personal life is of no concern to me. Without question, what he did to his family was pretty scummy, but it doesn't affect me. I'm supposed to hate him because he's a dirt bag off the course? If we took that approach with all athletes, we would be prohibited from liking most of them.
2. Whether I'm watching golf or not, I always want Woods to win, because he's one of the few on the course who actually looks like an athlete. Every time a fat smoker like Angel Cabrera wins a tournament, especially a major, it detracts from the legitimacy of the sport, in my mind. Phil Mickelson couldn't come close to beating Tiger in a foot race, or on the basketball court. I realize that means nothing on the golf course, but it means something to me. Athletes should look like athletes, and Tiger is one of the few on tour who does.
Post a Comment