RealClearSports: Mickelson Makes Tiger's Masters His Own

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

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.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2010

Global Golf Post: A Masters That Became A Work Of Art

By Art Spander
For GlobalGolfPost.com

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.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2010 Global Golf Post

Newsday: Kim, with changed attitude, shoots 65 to finish third

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

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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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/kim-with-changed-attitude-shoots-65-to-finish-third-1.1857574
Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: The Masters We Used to Know Returns

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

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.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2010

Newsday: Mickelson's eagles help him soar

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

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.''

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/mickelson-s-eagles-help-him-soar-1.1856289
Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.