Wednesday, April 14th, 2010RealClearSports: Phil Mickelson: From Whipping Boy to WinnerBy Art Spander It’s interesting, all this praise for Phil Mickelson, not that it’s undeserved. Not too long ago, he was everyone’s whipping boy, the anti-Tiger if you will. Knocked for the way he played, knocked for the way he acted. Four years ago, GQ magazine made him No. 8, and the only golfer, in its audacious article of the Ten Most Hated Athletes, one of those arbitrary lists designed to be outrageous if not accurate. © RealClearSports 2010 |
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Monday, April 12th, 2010RealClearSports: Mickelson Makes Tiger’s Masters His OwnBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — The week that seemed to belong to Tiger Woods, to the comeback that swamped all other sports news like a flood, instead finished in the possession of the man who could be called Tiger’s only real rival, Phil Mickelson. What an ending Sunday to a Masters that was poignant, dramatic and most of all tearful. What a close to a golfing show of spectacular shots and remarkable tension. © RealClearSports 2010 |
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Monday, April 12th, 2010Global Golf Post: A Masters That Became A Work Of ArtBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — This was no Masters. This was a Masters-piece, from, yes, the man who won it, Phil Mickelson, but also from so many others, from Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Anthony Kim, Tom Watson, Fred Couples, and no less importantly by the old lady herself, Augusta National. Copyright 2010 Global Golf Post |
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010Newsday: Kim, with changed attitude, shoots 65 to finish thirdBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — Anthony Kim needed a reassessment. “I looked back,” he said of last year, “and last season, I was just complaining about everything. I felt I deserved to win, but that’s not how it is.” That’s how it was. Now Kim, with a new attitude - or so he says - is approaching the heights predicted for him. A week ago, he won the Shell Houston Open. Sunday, with a closing 65, he finished third in the Masters, four shots behind Phil Mickelson and one behind Lee Westwood. “I hung in there without my best stuff,” Kim said, “and I made some putts.” For two years, Kim, the 24-year-old from Southern California, had been labeled the next player to challenge Tiger Woods. But there were injuries and excuses, the latter a result of a tough childhood with a father who demanded perfection. Suddenly, he’s grown up. He stopped partying and started practicing. He learned to control a temper that caused him to get into arguments with his former golf coach at the University of Oklahoma. “I’m comfortable with who I am out there,” Kim said. “I’ve found a new identity.” That identity and patience enabled him to produce a torrid four-hole stretch starting at the 13th, going birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie. He had two other birdies and one bogey. “It was a very good round,” said Kim, who started the day tied for ninth, six shots behind leader Westwood. “I just waited for something to happen. I knew I was going to make some putts out there, and so starting at 13 got the ball rolling and had only six putts in from there.” Kim has been bothered by a torn ligament in his left thumb that might require surgery, although he is seeking an alternate method of healing. “It’s been about 15, 16 months,” Kim said of the injury. “It’s not going away. Surgery is the last resort, but it’s affecting my swing, and I don’t want to get into bad habits. We are trying to figure something out.” Overnight, he figured out a great deal about his game. “I was very frustrated Saturday, just because I felt like I’m doing the right things and I still can’t find a fairway,” he said, “so I was happy to get in at 1 over par [Saturday]. “Last night, my coach and I looked at some film. We went to a gym and threw med balls instead of hitting golf balls. I just aimed right and hoped it would hook.” Kim has emerged as one of the tour’s more appealing personalities. He’s got as much in common with the hip-hop generation as he does the well-heeled golf set. He was a hit with the U.S. fans at the Ryder Cup in 2008. Kim wears ostentatious belt buckles, usually with rhinestones surrounding the letters “AK.” And his name is likely to be in lights for years to come. - - - - - - |
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010RealClearSports: The Masters We Used to Know ReturnsBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — This was the Masters we used to know. This was the Masters of blue skies and blooming azaleas and golf shots that send an explosion of noise down the fairways and a chill up the spine. This was the Masters where eagles drop and expectations rise, and the top of the leaderboard becomes a spectator’s dream. © RealClearSports 2010 |
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010Newsday: Mickelson’s eagles help him soarBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson was watching the leader boards, as was just about everyone else at Augusta National. Mickelson knew that things were happening furiously on this spectacular Saturday, knew Lee Westwood was making birdies, knew Tiger Woods was making birdies and bogeys. Then Mickelson, who briefly had fallen five shots behind Westwood, started making things happen himself. He knocked in an 8-footer for an eagle 3 on the par-5 13th. He knocked in a 7-iron from 141 yards for an eagle 2 on the par-4 14th. He almost knocked in a wedge for an eagle on the par-5 15th, the ball stopping inches from the cup for a birdie. “I was expecting that last one to disappear, too,” Mickelson said. After an up-and-down start, Mickelson suddenly appeared as a solid Masters contender. The champion in 2004 and 2006 had a 5-under-par 67 and is at 11-under 205 after three rounds, a shot behind Westwood, whom he briefly passed before making bogey at 17. Two others, Dustin Johnson last year and Dan Pohl in 1982, had consecutive eagles at Augusta on the same holes, 13 and 14. Neither ended up a winner. Then neither was ranked No. 3 in the world and had been No. 2, as the 39-year-old Mickelson. “I played about as well as I have in a long time,” Mickelson said. Once again his wife, Amy, weakened from treatment for breast cancer, remained at the Augusta home the family is renting. Whether worries over her health have affected him he won’t confide, but his golf has been ineffective at the start of this season. “This is the way I expect to play,” was Mickelson’s comment before the Masters. “I feel great about my game. I’m hitting a lot of good iron shots, driving the ball well and feel very confident with the putter, even on some treacherous greens. And I’ve made a bunch of putts.” Including one on the 510-yard 13th, where he said he took a chance on his second shot, flying it over Rae’s Creek. “I hit a good drive,” Mickelson explained, “and I had a 7-iron to the back pin from 195. I took a chance to go at it, and hit one of the best shots of the tournament to about 8 feet, and it spurred the rest of the round.” Not that he expected to follow with the wedge into the cup on the 14th, although he did expect to make birdie. “It’s the easiest pin they can have on the hole.” Eagle, eagle, birdie. Mickelson had gone from 7 under to 12 under in three holes. “There were roars going all over the place,” Mickelson affirmed. “You couldn’t figure out what [was happening] because there were roars throughout the course. It was a really fun day to see the leader board changing.” - - - - - - http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/mickelson-s-eagles-help-him-soar-1.1856289 |
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010Newsday: Watson and Manassero prove golf a game for the agesBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — They are 44 years and six shots apart. And they’re both in the final round of the Masters; proof once more that golf is a game for the ages and the ageless. Tom Watson is 60 and after 54 holes, he is at 2-under-par 214, shooting a 73 Saturday. Matteo Manassero is 16 and after 54 holes, having been the youngest ever both to start the tournament and to make the cut, is 4-over 220 after a 73. In each case, the adjective remarkable is applicable. Asked what he would take away from the week, Watson, a two-time Masters champion and last year at age 59 losing in a playoff at the British Open, said: “I don’t know yet. It depends on how I finish Sunday.” Asked the same question, Manassero, a young gentleman from Verona, Italy, who last year won the British Amateur said: “I’m thinking it’s a good experience. It’s a good experience watching guys who have played for 20 years or so on the PGA [Tour].” Or 39 or so, as Watson. On Wednesday night, Watson was given the Ben Hogan award for the golfer who returns to the game from serious injury or illness. Watson shared the award with Ken Green. Watson had hip-replacement surgery in October 2008. Green was in a serious vehicle accident in 2009 in which his brother and girlfriend were killed. His right leg so severely mangled it had to be amputated. “With all due respect,” Watson said when called to the dais, “I am unworthy of this award. With that, I’ll step aside for Ken Green.” Young Manassero, who will turn 17 next week, evinces his own humbleness and respect for the game, though he is also confident about his future. “My game makes me more comfortable and assured of my abilities,” Manassero said. He plans to play the Italian Open in Turin the first week of May, go to St. Andrew’s for the British Open and play six other tournaments - he gets seven exemptions, not counting the British - in hopes of earning his European Tour card. If he doesn’t, he’ll play on the Challenge Tour, Europe’s second tier, and go through qualifying school. “I’m comfortable playing with these guys and I’m playing OK,” Manassero said. “I think I’m ready.” - - - - - - http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/watson-and-manassero-prove-golf-a-game-for-the-ages-1.1856249 |
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Saturday, April 10th, 2010Newsday: This Masters is taking on an English accentBy Art Spander Hoist a glass of Tetley’s Bitter. Have a plate of bangers and mash. Sing a few choruses of “God Save the Queen.” Tiger Woods’ impressive return to golf notwithstanding, this Masters has taken on an English accent. Halfway through Masters 2010, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, English to the core, share the lead with 8-under-par totals of 136. If this keeps up, the Waffle House on Riverwatch Parkway may put bubble and squeak on the menu in place of grits. Only the other day, Westwood said, “I think en masse, we are more equipped to go mob-handed to the major championships now.” What happened Friday at Augusta National lent support to his premise. Westwood, who will be 37 before the end of April, shot a 3-under 69, which included an eagle 3 on the second hole and a double-bogey 6 on the 14th. The 36-year-old Poulter had a 4-under 68 with five birdies and only one bogey, that coming unfortunately at 18. So the two Brits, who will be paired in Saturday’s round, are two shots ahead of Woods, K.J. Choi, Ricky Barnes, Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson. “If you had bothered to look at the world rankings,” Westwood pointed out, “and seen how many English players were up there, and three in the top 10 [Westwood, 4; Paul Casey, 6; Poulter, 7], we’re not there by mistake. “We ought to be contending in these major championships, in the biggest events where the best players contend.” They are. And they have been. Poulter, the guy who used to wear trousers made from a Union Jack, finished second to Padraig Harrington in the 2008 British Open. Westwood came within a putt of tying Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open, ending up third, and last year was third in both the British Open, also missing the playoff by a shot, and the PGA Championship. Winner of the Accenture Match Play in February at Tucson, Poulter was called one of the favorites for this Masters, and that didn’t displease him a bit. “I like that it’s going to put a bit of pressure on me,” Poulter said. “It’s going to make me focus. This is a golf course you can’t let your mind wander at all, in any way, shape or form. Otherwise, it will penalize you badly.” Westwood was brilliant a decade ago, even leading the 1999 Masters briefly. He slumped badly in the mid 2000s but came back in 2008. Asked what a win in a major would mean, Westwood, who has victories on every continent, said, “It’s the only thing really missing in my career.” - - - - - - http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/this-masters-is-taking-on-an-english-accent-1.1855184 |
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Friday, April 9th, 2010Newsday: Mickelson still has his 2009 mojo goingBy Art Spander AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were paired together for the final round of the 2009 Masters, each seven strokes behind the leader. Then the two biggest names in golf put on the biggest show in golf. Mickelson shot a 67, Woods a 68. Thursday, they were in different groups, but they both picked up where they left off, Mickelson with another 67 and Woods another 68. For both the golf was equally impressive. Mickelson is tied for second, seemingly with half the field, a shot behind Fred Couples. “I just felt like we were going to go out and make some noise,” Mickelson said about 2009, “and we both did.” And about 2010? “It’s a good start,” said Mickelson, a two-time Masters champion. “My expectations are high.” He will be 40 in June and, as has been noted, his wife, Amy, is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She arrived two days ago from their home north of San Diego but did not feel well enough Thursday to come to Augusta National. “They are totally different,” Mickelson said of his 67s separated by 360 days. “Sunday is Sunday. It’s just a different feel. Thursday is getting off to a good start. I needed a good, solid round because I’ve been putting myself behind early in tournaments and been having to almost force things.” At 1 under par through 12 holes, Mickelson rammed a 6-iron onto the green for his second shot to the 510-yard par-5 13th and sank the 30-foot eagle putt. He followed with a 40-footer for a birdie on the par-4 14th and a 25-footer for a birdie on the par-5 15th, and just like that, he was 5 under. - - - - - - http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/mickelson-still-has-his-2009-mojo-going-1.1853453 |
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