One Magical Sunday

by Phil Mickelson

  In the fairway at #13, I think I have landed it in the perfect spot. But when I get out there, I see that I have to contend with an uneven lie. This should be no problem, but I also have to think about the area around the green, which is particularly treacherous. There is water close to the right edge where the tributary winds down. When I played this hole on Friday, I pulled my approach shot and it rolled off the green but stopped inches above Rae’s Creek. With some luck, I still managed a birdie, though.

  In the back of my mind, I remember what happened to Curtis Strange back in 1985. He was leading the tournament when he knocked his approach shot from the thirteenth fairway into the water. Then he did it again on #15 and knocked himself out of the tournament.

  I’ve seen Phil play many rounds of golf. I could tell he was really grinding out there. He was working very hard. But he didn’t show it to the people on the course. He just kept smiling.

  Gary McBride, Amy’s Dad

  “Okay,” I’m thinking, “I went nuts on #12 and went straight at the flag. But this is not the time to go right at it. It’s a time to give myself a 20-footer for eagle to tie for the lead—or a short putt for birdie and be only one back with five holes to go.” So I pull out my seven-iron and try to hit the left side of the green. I’m going to take the right side (and thereby the water hazard) out of play. I make a good swing and my ball lands in the middle of the green, catches the swale, and rolls down to within 20 feet.

  I remember turning to Amy and saying: “He’s under such control. How much more can a person prepare? This is all part of the habit that’s been created all year. This is what he’s worked so hard for.”

  Rick Smith, Phil’s Long-Game Coach

  There’s a leaderboard right behind the green on #13—so I understand exactly where I stand and what this putt means. If I make it for eagle, I tie for the lead. If I two-putt for a birdie, I’ll be only one back.

  Walking around the green, I know this putt breaks eight inches more than it looks. For whatever reason, the ball snaps hard to the right when it reaches the hole. I’ve missed this putt low many times in the past, so I’m going to make sure that, this time, I play enough break. As I set up to make my stroke, I’m playing it to break even more than my eyes tell me it will break. I’m aiming a good three feet outside the left edge. I’m also going to make certain I don’t hit it too hard. I want it to catch the break.

  My putting stroke feels good and I send the ball way out there. It starts swinging, swinging, swinging back and . . . . . I miss it low and it rolls two or three feet by the hole. I didn’t hit it hard enough.

  That darn putt! Every year I play more and more break, and I miss it by less and less. One of these days, I’m going to make it!

  Now I’m within my three-foot circle. I’ve hit so many thousands of these all year, it’s not even a second thought. I don’t take it for granted, though. I step up and knock it in for birdie.

  Ernie saved par on #14. The way I look at it, though, we both stood on the 13th tee at five under par. He eagled the hole, I birdied it. Chris DiMarco also made birdie. He’s now only three off the pace.

  Okay. Five holes to go. I’m one shot down.

  PLAYER

  SCORE

  HOLE

  Els

  -7

  14

  Mickelson

  -6

  13

  Choi

  -5

  14

  Langer

  -4

  13

  DiMarco

  -4

  13

  Garcia

  -3

  18

  Couples

  -3

  17

  Casey

  -2

  13

  Singh

  -2

  18

  Love III

  -2

  17

  Price

  -1

  17

  Triplett

  E

  15

  Wittenberg (A)

  E

  18

  Howell III

  E

  18

  Goosen

  E

  18

  14

  Chinese Fir

  Par 4

  440 Yards

  Slight Dogleg Left

  This is the only hole at Augusta without bunkers—and it sets up very well for me. The fairway is higher than the tee box and I want to carry it over the ridge 290 yards out, so I decide to hit a big, high-cut driver.

  I aim down the right side again. And I absolutely rip at it as hard as I can. The ball ends up over the ridge, right in the middle of the fairway. Perfect shot.

  But then, as we’re walking off the tee, I hear another huge roar. I can’t tell if it was at #15 or #16 green. I don’t think it’s Ernie, but I’m certainly not sure. What’s going on?

  We heard the roar and it sounded like an eagle. It was almost hysterical in nature. What was it? Did Ernie make another birdie? What? Then somebody told us that Kirk Triplett had just made a hole-in-one at #16. Two holes-in-one on the back nine at Augusta on Sunday! Wow! The Masters Magic! It’s really happening! What’s next?

  Amy Mickelson

  In the fairway, I’m mulling over my 148-yard approach shot. The green terraces down sharply from left to right, so I must carry over the first tier. Fortunately, the pin placement is the easiest it could possibly be—in a low spot where all the balls collect. Another birdie possibility.

  Bones and I are talking over the shot when we hear another huge roar—and this time there was no doubt. Ernie Els had birdied the 15th hole. Now he’s two shots ahead.

  This shot is now more critical than ever. I was thinking about hitting a 9-iron, flying it in low about 142 yards, and having it land four yards short of the hole. But Bones has a different idea. “We should hit a pitching wedge,” he says. “Hit it a little fuller and a little higher. We still have to take six or seven yards off of it, but we can bring it in a little softer. And I think we’ll have a better chance of getting close.”

  That is such an astute recommendation that I can’t do anything but agree. Bones’ imagination and knowledge of my game really pays off at this moment.

  It was an advantage seeing what Ernie had done in front of me. After his last birdie, it was clear to me that he was not going to give me anything. Now I know that I really have to dig deep. I’m pumped up and I’m going to fire right at that pin.

  As I stand behind the ball, I look toward the green and visualize where the ball is going to land. I take a couple of long, lazy, fluid practice swings. Standing over this shot, I know that I have to take 7 yards off this pitching wedge. All the hours of work I spent with Dave Pelz, the thousands and thousands of shots I hit getting the yardages down with the wedges—now it was going to pay off.

  I hit it. It feels good. “Be right,” I say. “C’mon.” The shot bounces on the front of the green, and slowly rolls right toward the flagstick.

  My ball misses going in the cup by an inch and stops a half-foot past the hole. What a great feeling! I’ve got a tap-in for birdie!

  When Phil almost holed that shot, I was thinking “This is his day! This is his day!” I just knew it! And I started to cry. My girlfriend Tricia looked at me and said: “You better not start that right now—because we’re all going to lose it if you do. You have four holes to go. Pull yourself together.”

  Amy Mickelson

  Now there’s another huge roar at Augusta—only this time it’s coming from our hole, the 14th. But it sounds more like a roar for eagle than one for birdie. And I know Ernie heard it.

  When I make those long, lazy, fluid practice swings before I hit a shot, I’m not limbering up my muscles as many people believe. Rather, I’m visualizing what the swing feels like for the shot I’m trying to cr
eate. The neuromuscular message that is sent from your brain to your body during a golf swing is what I’m trying to focus on. I don’t believe in muscle memory because I don’t believe your muscles have memory. I believe that our mind can be trained to tell our muscles what to do. And so, if I visualize a good golf swing—and create that feeling in my body—I will ultimately have a better chance of hitting my desired shot. In other words, the neuromuscular message that is sent from your brain during an imaginary swing is as important as the actual swing itself. So, visualization first, then the real swing.

  A proper visualization routine works not only in golf, but in other areas of my life. That tango I was able to pull off with Amy at our wedding was a good example. At six foot, three inches tall—and with size 13 feet—I’m obviously not the greatest dancer in the world. But I actually spent more time visualizing that dance routine than I did practicing it. And as Amy will tell you, I pulled it off.

  This entire concept involving visualization affects my regular golf routine—how I practice, how often I practice, when I practice, and when I don’t practice. After playing a competitive round of golf, for instance, many of the pros will go straight to the driving range—especially if they did not have a good round. But that doesn’t work for me. After spending five hours on the golf course and then doing an hour and a half of media interviews, I’m tired. So after the round, I’ll go somewhere by myself and think about the day’s round. I’ll try to figure out what it is that I need to do differently—or what I need to work on to improve for the next day. I’ll imagine hitting good shots instead of bad ones. If I have a problem and can’t figure out why, I’ll pick up the phone and call Rick Smith or Dave Pelz. “Why am I hooking the ball?” I’ll ask. “Why am I missing it left?” “What’s wrong with my putting stroke?”

  I’ll also think about all those factors I went over the week before the tournament—density, altitude, temperature, relative humidity, whether I was playing in the morning or the afternoon, things like that. In the mornings, when the temperatures are cooler, players often come up short of the green on their approach shots. But in the afternoons, if the temperature hits, say, 90 degrees, the ball will fly farther. Taking into account extraneous factors such as temperature can make the difference in winning or losing a golf tournament.

  Walking away from the golf course after I play a round just works for me. But it obviously doesn’t work that way for everybody. Ben Hogan felt he had to hit 500 golf balls a day in order to keep his edge. I felt that way when I was a kid. But after I became a professional, I started to experiment and try different things.

  Right after I came out on the Tour, I had a conversation with Jack Nicklaus about preparing for the major golf tournaments. He told me that he always took off the week before a major. I tried that a number of times, but ended up performing terribly. I felt stale, a little nervous—and I always started slow. Jack’s routine just didn’t work for me. So now, I always play the week before a major. It keeps my game sharp, my competitive edge tuned up—and that, I believe, increases my chances of success.

  Interestingly enough, while a short layoff before major tournaments doesn’t work well for me, a long layoff in the off-season does. I’ve had some of my best outings after not having touched a golf club for six weeks. A good example was the 2004 Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii. I hadn’t touched a club in more than three weeks when I went in there and shot a 59 on the final day and won the tournament. And I didn’t touch another club until January 1, 2005—five weeks later.

  I like the long layoff in the off-season. It gives me a chance to spend more time with Amy and the children. And that, in turn, puts me in a better emotional frame of mind when I do end up going back out on the Tour.

  After Phil has laid off golf for more than a month in the off-season, he’ll start to get this itch to compete, to get back in the arena. It’s an interesting thing to watch. He’s like a little kid who’s standing on the sidelines while all his teammates are playing in the game and he’s not. He just can’t wait to get back in there and compete.

  Amy Mickelson

  Sometimes the media will criticize me for taking so much time off. For instance, I normally do not play in the Mercedes Championship during the first week of January. And people will say that I’m not being supportive of the Tour. Well, the Mercedes tournament is a great event because the field includes all the previous year’s winners who compete for $5 million in prize money. But for me, money isn’t everything. Besides, during the first week of January, my kids are still on break and it’s a chance for me to extend the holidays and be with them. Not only that, but the longer layoff has become part of a routine that works best for me.

  Young golfers often ask me about my golf routine. And of course, I’ll explain it to them in some detail. But I’ll always end by reminding them that what worked for Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus might not work for them. Hogan and Nicklaus were great golfers because they had their own ways of doing things. So I’ll advise young people to find out what works best for them. That, I think, is the best way to achieve your own success.

  Of course, when I get back to golf after the off-season, I really get back. I’ll go down to the Callaway Test Center and isolate myself over at one end. I’m not there to chat or pal around with anyone—I’m there to practice. Rick Smith and Dave Pelz will also fly into town to work with me on virtually all the elements of my game. I’ll go from a no-hour workday to a 12- or 14-hour workday. I’ll hit 1,500 golf balls a day—wedges, short-irons, long-irons, drivers, three-woods. I’ll do my chipping around the green with certain little practice targets that I’ll have to hit. I’ll spend time in the bunkers. And I’ll do my hundred putts from a three-foot circle.

  I was once asked why I putt in a circle around the hole. Well, as the 1957 Masters champion, Jackie Burke, once told me, golf is a game of circles. The hole is a circle, the ball is a circle, the greens are circles, and many of the bunkers are circles. When you go out to a course and play, they even call it a “round” of golf. And since your target is a circle, you should practice in a circle. So that’s why I put in a circle around the hole.

  In some way, I believe my strategy of stepping away from golf for an extended period of time relates back to our family vacations when my dad used to stop at the peak of the fun. I always wanted to get back to the ski slopes, for instance, because I always had such a great time skiing.

  Of course, that’s what golf is for me—great fun. I was fortunate enough to be reminded of that in early 2004 by Dave Pelz.

  About a month before the Masters, we were having a casual conversation when I mentioned to Phil that I thought he looked too serious on Sundays. “When you are at the top of your game, you’re smiling and laughing,” I said. “When you play with your friends, you are almost unbeatable—because you are enjoying yourself. That allows your mind and body to perform at the top of your game. If you try to be too serious, it’s like tying one hand behind your back. Phil, you need to lighten up on Sundays.”

  At first, Phil looked at me like I was crazy. But then he thought about it. And I think he realized that all of his best final rounds occurred when he was having fun—not when he was being too serious.

  Dave Pelz, Phil’s Short-Game Coach

  As I walk up to the 14th green, I know I have a tap in for a birdie—and I’m feeling good. The fans are excited and applauding. I smile and nod. “Thank you,” I say, even though I know they can’t hear me.

  That smile and nod that Phil flashes is, I think, the mark of a really fine human being. It’s almost as if he’s embarrassed by all the applause and he’s trying to be polite in how he responds to it.

  Phil Mickelson, Sr., Phil’s Dad

  I was taking care of the kids at our rental house not far from the course. When Phil birdied #14, I figured it was time to get the kids over there because their daddy just might win this thing. “Amanda,” I said, “are you ready to go to Daddy’s work now?”

  “No, I don’t think I wan
t to go today,” she replied. Amanda was having too much Easter fun.

  “Well, I think it’s going to be a special day,” I said, trying to convince her to go. “I think you’ll want to be there. And he’ll want you there.”

  “No, I don’t want to. I want to stay here.”

  Renee McBride, Amy’s Mom

  It’s a gimme putt. I tap it in and head over to #15. Now I’ve really got some momentum going. Three birdies in a row. Still down by one.

  PLAYER

  SCORE

  HOLE

  Els

  -8

  15

  Mickelson

  -7

  14

  Choi

  -5

  14

  Langer

  -5

  14

  DiMarco

  -4

  14

  Garcia

  -3

  18

  Couples

  -2

  18

  15

  Firethorn

  Par 5

  500 Yards

  The 15th hole at Augusta is a straightaway par 5 that is reachable in two. Golfing historians remember it as the sight of Gene Sarazen’s 1935 “Shot Heard Round the World”—when he holed his second shot from the fairway for a miraculous double eagle.

  #15, however, presents a very tough tee shot for me. There are trees just off the tee box that prevent me from going with the fade shot that I’ve been hitting most of the day. Now I’ve got to try to hook a driver—something I haven’t done since the eleventh hole. I know that if I miss it right into the trees, I’ll have no second shot. So if I miss, it must be to the left where at least I’ll have a recovery shot and still a chance for birdie.