A tradition like no other... the Masters

With the dawning of the new baseball season and the resumption of daylight savings time... (for everyone but us Arizonans), spring has officially been reborn. I would be remiss if I didn't share my personal feelings about the game I love and the tournament that inspires, delights and rekindles an already blazing fire inside me... the Masters. I have been to Pebble Beach and played golf's mecca in America and walked the hallowed ground where Jack and Tiger have produced memories I, as a golf enthusiast (feel free to insert fanatic, if you please) will never forget. But the tournament that gets the golf juices flowing like a snow melt aided river is played in a place I have never been, but know like my own neighborhood. It is played on a course where the holes are known by the plants and trees and flowers that grace its fairways and greens, by Rae's creek and the Sarazen bridge and the coveted green jacket that the winner is presented with every year. Where Jack (Nicklaus, still and always the greatest player I will ever see) has won an unprecedented 6 times against a field that is elite and must be qualified for, like the runners who run the Boston Marathon. And this year's tournament, like all the others before it, was a classic...

The tournament began with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus hitting the traditional first tee shots at Augusta. Tom Watson and Fred Couples (the old guard) provided early round excitement as they vied for the lead. The British invasion, led by Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood captured the leaderboard in rounds two and three, but the Tiger was back and in contention throughout, promising a nervous look over the shoulder of anyone leading the tournament, wondering when and where he would make his run. And all through this wonderful drama was eventual champion Phil Mickelson, a crowd favorite and favorite whipping boy of the golf media... (bringing up his long drought without a major and how he stumbles at the end of tournaments) playing inspired and spectacular golf, hitting shots that I thought only I had in my bag (the bad ones not the good ones) and recovering from anywhere and everywhere to post a bogey free round and as Jim Nantz likes to say had "a win for the ages"...

It was Tiger Woods' first tournament since his tragic fall from grace and five month layoff from golf and the media and announcers made me a little sick to my stomach with the way they were treating him with kid gloves and basically kissing his behind all the way around the course. It was an amazing effort that he put up (one I didn't think he would with all the distractions, but this tournament brings out the best in him), but I believe that the announcers were biased toward him (like they are every time he plays), showing every shot he hit before showing the contenders, making excuses for him on a bad shot, (while beating up the others for bad choices or errant shots) and then asking fluff questions after the round and tiptoeing around the issues everyone was interested in (how does his "addiction" affect his golf?). Which brings me to my rant of the day. Where was sex addiction before? Why is it a national problem and the choice of everyone who gets caught cheating on their wives? Aren't they just what they are, cheaters? Do you think Elin Woods believes her husband has an "addiction" and is not just a cheating, lying pig who got caught? Would Tiger and Jesse James (Mr. Sandra Bullock) have volunteered for therapy if their cheating butts hadn't been caught and splashed all over the tabloids? I think not.
As a recovering addict/alcoholic, I know the pain and shame that my actions caused my loved ones, but to use the word "addiction" for these cheating a-holes insults me and I hope it insults everyone else...

And now comes the real reason why this tournament was a classic. It wasn't until the last hole that anyone brought up Phil Mickelson's tragic situation. Last year, his wife AND mother were diagnosed with breast cancer and began treatments. Rather than play in tournaments, he took time off to be with them and support them and help them in their time of need. It is a difficult thing to deal with one's own demons but to stand by and watch a loved one struggle while you feel helpless makes what I have been through pale in comparison. Yet he continued to play on. Amy (his wife) and the kids were in Augusta, but she was not on the course until Sunday and Phil made a point of getting off the course quickly to be with her after the first three rounds. When he sank the putt to win he embraced her and kissed her and hugged the kids and said in his interview that it was a win for the family... (FYI, Mrs. Woods and the kids were not there supporting the "addict"). But why report about a husband and father doing the right thing? that's not "news". Congratulations to Phil Mickelson and his family for an historic win at my favorite tournament. Thanks for some great memories and for your humble and gracious nature. And thanks for being a real role model and for doing the things a husband and father should do... Golf is a gentleman's game and the announcers and fans and players should remember that first and foremost and respect the game that has given them so much... I do.