Posted by Travis Rodgers on Apr 12, 2010

MIckelson Wins Masters, Tiger Doesn’t…Good #PGA

Feels like the 3rd time.

Phil wins. For some strange reason it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as I think it should. I don’t like the guy, I don’t think he’s sincere, and more than anything, the guy needs to be strapped to a barber’s chair and have a haircut forced upon him. Dude, it’s 2010, not 1977, trim that mess.

Mickelson wins, and for reasons I can’t quite wrap my head around, I was kind of pulling for the guy. Once Fred Couples barfed on 12, I started pulling for the guy. Not Choi, who was rock solid most of the day. Not Kim who charged too late to really make a run, and sure as hell not the guy in the red shirt, and I am not talking about Lee Westwood.

Mickelson played brilliantly, pulled shots out of his backside, made clutch putts, and played with a tremendous combination of flash and skill. The 6-iron between the trees, over the creek, to 5-feet was as good as it gets, even if he did miss the eagle putt. Everyone else stumbled and he didn’t.

I don’t care how insincere the guy may appear to be, that scene with his wife behind the 18th green was the real thing. Even for him. Especially when compared to what Tiger Woods has been through, errr, put himself through, the last 5 months.

Genuine.

The only theory I have is that I was pulling for anyone not named Tiger. A complete 180. I used to wait for the Tiger run. The crazy shot, the bomb putt, the great save. Tiger being Tiger. Not so much anymore. The highlight of the day was him losing his focus, and missing a 2 footer for par after he missed a 5-footer for birdie that would have kept him in it. Instead of rooting for the Lefty meltdown, I was pulling for Tiger to tank. It’s like being a Yankee fan and all of a sudden you are hoping David Ortiz gets the big hit and Marinao Rivera can’t get anyone out. Well, assuming Mariano Rivera had a harem of women on the side and treated everyone like a sucker.

Tiger will be back. He actually played very poorly and still found a way to finish fourth. When was the last time you saw him fat a 3-wood off a tee? He will win again, sooner than later. But judging from the lukewarm reaction from the fans, and from my own reaction to seeing him play again, he will never be that Tiger Woods again.

Go Lefty. Sort of.