Editor's note: In what was to be 2020 Masters week, we are walking down Memory Magnolia Lane with a look back at some of Furman Bisher's columns from the tournament. Bisher died in 2012 at the age of 93 having covered 62 of the 75 Masters. Selah. Today: Phil Mickelson wins his third Masters. The column appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on April 12, 2010. | Yesterday: Tiger Woods wins fourth Green Jacket
AUGUSTA — It was a celebration of golf, and at the same time, a celebration of an American family, the Mickelsons of California. Phil and Amy. Their arms entwined in a stirring embrace after Phil had downed the final putt — for a birdie — that nailed down his third Masters championship and his third green jacket.
It was a day that warmed the hearts of millions across this fruited land and filled the air around this part of Georgia with deafening roars and nonstop cheering in appreciation for a proper result. The Mickelsons have battled a medical crisis that caught attention across the country. It seemed that this was a kind of confirmation that all is well, and somewhere up there, peace and happiness are confirmed.
Mickelson won the Masters with his third round of 67, a four-day score of 272, just two strokes off the tournament record. The truth is, it was about as perfect a round of golf as you'll ever see at Augusta National. Nary a bogey, capped off by a birdie putt on the 18th green, after which the thousands who seemed to fill every corner of the course exploded in vibrant celebration.
Thousands of those were cheers not just for the champion, but an expression of relief that the beleaguered Tiger Woods, who chose this revered American tradition to emerge from his self-induced absence from golf, was not the winner. Nothing could have pleased these thousands more, or a majority of them.
Mickelson and Lee Westwood, the No.1 player on the European Tour, had a tough run into the back nine, when Mickelson began to pull away. Woods became a mild threat only on the back nine, when he eagled the 15th hole. But by the time he birdied the 18th, there was no battle left to be fought.
It was an interesting lineup of leaders at the end, Mickelson, Westwood and two players of Korean origin, the American-bred Anthony Kim and K.J. Choi, sandwiched around Woods.
Fred Couples kept his game aglow long enough to finish sixth in his respite from the Champions Tour. The 50-year-old had a thing going at the turn, but when his tee shot on the 12th hole found water, the double bogey finished off anything he had left.
Woods’ opening tee shot landed in the ninth fairway, which might have indicated just how his day might go. But he did recover to the point that at one time he was within three strokes of the lead.
It isn’t easy to say, or even determine, but the general attitude of the spectators appeared to be one of acceptance, if not of such a volume as to challenge the screaming support that carried Mickelson on its wings.
Amy Mickelson (and family) had been here all week, but only on Sunday did she appear at the championship.
“I wasn’t sure she was going to be here today,” Phil said. “I didn’t know if she would be there behind 18. To walk off the green and share it with her was very emotional.”
Such was the final day of this Masters, the 74th. There may have been a more emotional one, but there was something beyond just sporting emotion in this one.
In the long run, the bottom line was ... that the right man won.
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