This isn’t to suggest that Phil Mickelson is some humble, laid-back everyday kind of man — although there was that time several years ago at the BellSouth Classic when he went through a period of blowing off all media requests, and he gave me the nicest dismissal of my career. “I’m very sorry, it’s nothing personal,” he said several times after I followed him into the players’ locker room, before reaching into a cooler, pulling out a bottle of water, smiling and asking, “Would you like one?”
I surrendered.
Here’s a little peek behind the curtain: Mickelson’s smiling exterior often has been perceived as less than genuine. But the past year and a half should have pushed the man toward actual humility. He admitted he had become soft and lazy, mind and body. After winning the 2013 British Open, he sort of slid into cruise, and/or on the couch, and he paid for it, suffering a pulled oblique, which led to back issues, which led to missing cuts, which included humiliation in last year’s Masters (missing the cut for the first time since 1997).
These things happen when you pass 40. I’ve heard.
“I didn’t put in the time working out,” Mickelson said the other day. “As you get older, you need to put in more time than you used to.”
At which point a roomful of sportswriters looked at each other with disgust.
But old Phil seems to be young Phil again. He rededicated himself, and it shows in his conditioning and his game. Mickelson was an impressive 6 under after two rounds of the Masters. Then on Saturday, he transitioned from impressive to dazzling.
He birdied three of his first four holes. He dropped in three more birdies on the back nine, including a 41-foot putt on No. 16. Despite a three-putt bogey on 17th and botching a 10-foot birdie putt on 18, Mickelson finished the day at 5 under par 67 to leave him at 11 under for the tournament and in third place, five shots behind Jordan Spieth and four behind Justin Rose.
So maybe this thing isn’t over after all.
“Making some birdies and having fun and tomorrow’s final round at the Masters — it’s what I’ve been looking forward to,” Mickelson said. “It’s what I was thinking of and dreaming of when I was getting up at 5:30 in the offseason working out, trying to get some speed, trying to be in contention for this tournament. So here we are six months later. It’s going to be a fun day.”
The Masters is Mickelson’s career playground. He has won three of these, which puts him in elite company. Only Jack Nicklaus (6), Arnold Palmer (4) and Tiger Woods (4) have more. Only Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player and Nick Faldo have as many. He is Masters royalty.
It made it all the more amusing that nobody seemed to be talking about Mickelson coming into the week. Spieth was the next best thing. Rory McIlroy was the current best thing. Tiger Woods was on the road back. Bubba Watson had turned Augusta National into his favorite Dog park.
Mickelson?
Anybody notice Mickelson?
“Yeah, that was great, wasn’t it?” Jim “Bones” MacKay, Mickelson’s long-time caddie, joked about the relative anonymity. “I thought it was kind of one of the critical things that Phil just sort of slipped in behind Rory (in Thursday’s and Friday’s pairings). Rory was getting all of attention, he deserves it, but Phil just went out and played, and that was cool.”
Mickelson started fast Saturday, with birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 4. It was a classic Phil — improbable irons, great short game, smooth on the greens. He birdied No. 13 after reaching the green in two. He birdied No. 15 after chipping to within to feet of the cup. At that point, he was 6 under for the day and 12 under for the tournament.
Worth reminding: He had rounds of 76 and 73 at Augusta National last year. His 5 over gave him something in common with Victor Dubuisson and Marc Leishman.
When Phil Mickelson has something in common with Victor Dubuisson and Marc Leishman, something is very wrong.
Even after a stroke back on 17 and blowing a birdie putt on 18, Mickelson is still in contention going into a Masters Sunday. That’s something nobody had forecast.
Does he believe he can overtake Spieth?
“I’m not going to try to convince anybody,” he said. “I’m going to have fun tomorrow.”
The long putt on 16 was convincing enough. Mickelson said he actually expected to two-putt for a par, but the ball kept rolling, hooked right and dropped in.
“It’s crazy to make that putt,” he said. “I had perfect speed, and it just kind of floated in the back door.”
Just like he did at the start of the week.
MacKay said Mickelson was far more injured last year than he ever let on: “He’s not a guy who’s going to tell you how hurt he is — not even to me as close as I am to him. He wasn’t feeling his best, and he obviously didn’t play as well as he liked. But that was then and this is now.”
Mickelson is 44 years old, two spots below a 21-year-old on the leaderboard.
“A tremendous amount,” MacKay said when asked how much that means to Mickelson. “I don’t care if he’s won it three times or not, he’s here. He’s starting from scratch like everybody else. To prove it all over again would mean a lot to him.”
He’s doing just that.
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