Mickelson Accepts The Green Jacket from Weir

Phil Mickelson was all smiles during his round on Sunday at Augusta; it was as if he were anticipating a Masters victory. Who could blame him if you look at the statistics?! For thirteen consecutive years, the Masters winner has come from the final pairing. The last five majors had been won by first-time major winners. And last year, a fellow south paw, Mike Weir had won the Masters. It was as though Phil knew he had fate on his side today.

Fate and a lot of fans cheering him on!

Mickelson battled The Big Easy, Ernie Els throughout the Back Nine coming back from a three-shot deficit. On the Back Nine, Phil shot a 31 with a birdie on the 12th, the 13th, the 14th, the 16th and the 18th. The birdie that wrapped around the cup on the 18th is what made Phil Mickelson the champion of the 68th Annual Masters Tournament.

Until then, I had visions the title of this story would be: "After A Masters Playoff between Els and Mickelson, The 2004 Green Jacket Goes To..."

But when Chris DiMarco hit a 2nd bunker shot on the 18th that put his ball on the exact same line as Phil's, we had faith Phil would learn from his opponent. And that he did! After reading the line from DiMarco, he confidently "stepped up to the plate" and sunk his putt -- much like Sandy Lyle did to win the 1988 Masters.

It marked the fourth time ever, and the first time since Mark O'Meara did it six years ago that a player has made a walk-off birdie on 18 to win at Augusta.

Announcer, Jim Nantz called it. As a smiling Mickelson approached the green Nantz said, "He's savoring the moment, as if he knows the outcome."

Nantz went on to say, "It's hard to believe there's a more popular winner in 2004."

Golfer and caddie!

When asked how good it feels to win this for Bones, Phil said:

Bones is going to have his first child in a another week or two. We've been monitoring the situation to make sure she's not going to go into labor. It has been a very emotional week for both of us, him especially, because he's expecting his first child. But as a team, and what he has gone through, the highs and lows with me for the last 12 years, since I've been a professional, as well. And I can't think of a better partner to have on or off the course than Jim MacKay. He felt all of the lows with me and he feels the highs. I think he feels as overwhelmed and as incredible as I do. It's awesome to have a partner like that.

Phil went on to describe how Bones was part of "the framework" who helped him win. He was asked, "Was there one play this week that he was a big part of, talking you into something or talking you out?" Michelson said:

Yes, he always has a very good perspective on shots. On 14 today, that was a critical shot for me, because it was an easy pin to get to. It was a shot where if you hit a good shot, it will end up close to the hole. I had to take advantage of that one.

I was thinking, it was 146, and I've got this little shot that I could hit a 9-iron and fly it, it was flying about 142 this week. I thought, oh, it could land four yards short of the hole and maybe release back. He says, 'you know, if you hit that shot, it's going to come in a little hotter. It could release to the back edge, and get hung up in the collar.' Sure enough, right before I hit, Chris DiMarco's ball did that exact thing. He says, 'we could hit a pitching wedge, hit it a little fuller, hit it higher; we still have to take six, seven yards off of it, but we could hit a pitching wedge, bring it in a little softer, and I think you'll have a better chance of getting close.'

That was a very good idea. He had a lot of them. He has a lot of those. He brings a different perspective. I always bounce my club selection off what he's thinking. He's exceptional at that.

Mickelson and Bones' victory was one of the greatest finishes in the sixty-eight year history of this major PGA tournament.

As ESPN's John Anderson sarcastically said later this evening, "Who would have ever want to trade lives with the guy? Prior to today, he had 22 PGA Tour wins. More than $26 million in career earnings. A wife who could melt glaciers. And three kids who look like they were born to pose for picture frames."

Other highlights that made the final day of the Masters an "Instant Classic:"

- Only seven times in the previous sixty-seven Masters has there been an ace at 16. Today, we experienced the awe and jubilation of two holes-in-one: The first hole-in-one was made by Padraig Harrington. Ten minutes later, Kirk Triplett fired another ace on 16. Amazing!

- Sergio Garcia, 5 over par for the tournament with 12 holes to play, birdied eight of those 12 to finish at 66 for the day and 3 under overall.

- On No. 11, South Korean K.J. Choi holed a 220-yard 5-iron for eagle, boosting him from 1 under par for the tournament to 3 under.

- Watching Jim McKay, aka "Bones", embrace Phil after Phil sank his putt to win. Having been with Mickelson at every tournament of his career, I'm not sure who was more excited to share the win -- Bones or Phil's wife, Amy.

- Sharing the tears of joy with Phil's wife, Amy. Quickly, the monkey on Phil's back was gone and was replaced with three beautiful children placed into his arms. As Phil's blonde curly-haired daughter hugged him, he said to her "Daddy won! Can you believe it? Daddy won!"

Phil, Amy, Bones, there are a lot of people celebrating with you, and a lot of golfers living vicariously through you, tonight. Your grandfather is probably up in Heaven with my mother-in-law, who was a big fan of yours, toasting you, as we are!

You and your victory are already being compared to other milestone winners such as:

- Ray Bourque who played for 21 seasons in the NHL before winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.

- Dean Smith who coached NCAA Basketball for twenty seasons before winning the championship.

- Dale Earnhardt who raced nineteen times at the Daytona 500 before finally winning.

- John Elway who played in the NFL for fourteen seasons before winning the Super Bowl.

On Easter Sunday morning, we sang "Hallelujah, Praise The Lord; Jesus has risen!" And in the afternoon we sang, "Hallelujah, Praise God; Phil Mickelson has risen to the occasion and won a major!"

As they say in Australia, "Good on ya, mate!" If ever a gent deserved it, you do!!

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King

P.S. To hear more straight from the 2004 Masters Champion, go to: Phil-Michelson.com

To see Phil's Scorecard for the tournament, go to: GolfWeb.com